Housing

News PodThis Month:

Terry on Homeless

Joshua on Hope and Future

Gerald on ‘’the home’

Matt on Sleep Out

Woking YMCA Ypod Centre

December 1st

Volume 1 Issue 3

For this months issue I interviewed the ever busy Terry Eckersley on issues surrounding homeless-ness. It is a consistent problem in our society and with the new housing project opening in Wok-ing very soon it was the right time to ask some pressing questions.

Gerald:I'm going to start off by asking you a ques-tion...what can you tell me about homelessness?

Terry: Ok I think its a scourge of modern day society, we hear stories of street urchins and we hear of Dr Bernado finding them and speaking to Lord Shaftsbury in a public meeting and Lord Shaftsbury didn't know there were street urchins ten minutes away from his home and he said but lets put our cookery down and go and look and they found them then that night –a petulant young doctor called Dr Bernado founded Dr Ber-nado's. But there's a lot of talk that there is no homelessness or there's not much homeless-ness here where in fact lot of it you can find is diluted sta-tistics or massaged statistics where people have been put into be and breakfast accom-modation. But if you do re-search with people like Shel-ter and other bonified credi-ble housing organisations

there's still a great need, there's a great break down of family and it’s a real need in modern day England.

G:Ok. Its interesting that you mentioned the role of the family, the break down of the family. Could you tell me a bit more about that?

T: Well you find if... a married couple get divorced, then sometimes the child or the children don't know which parent to go with or there's instability in the young per-sons life because of marriage breakdown and therefore family breakdown... and a lot of people who come out of care or ex-offenders who haven't got any real family roots often find themselves in that vicious cycle of homeless-ness.

(pause)

G:What can you tell me about this vicious cycle?

T:Well I think the challenge is unless people get into good supported housing where they can receive support, an edu-cation, information, training, advice: helping them build a whole life with a view to rein-tegrating back into the com-munity – If people are just getting put into bed and breakfast accommodation or are sofa surfing, then people are almost going from one

sofa to the next or out of B&B's somewhere into some-where temporary and fall again through the cracks in society. So what I am saying is, really the answer is in ho-listic supported housing when I say holistic I mean with peo-ple opportunity to develop and grow body, mind and spirit. So mentally education training wise, develop physi-cally through sport and other activities but be part of a wider community where they can find purpose and accep-tance.

G:I'm interested in the idea that you mentioned sup-ported housing and its role to do with integration, could you tell me a bit more about that process?

T:Social housing and its with a view to integration? Ok so I think... a culture within the supporting housing organisa-tion and policies, procedures, systems that allow it to hap-pen, where you have a sup-ported housing project. How-ever the support is a means to an end and the end is integra-tion. So you're not keeping people in a victim mentality or a can't do mentality but getting people into a victori-ous mentality or a ‘can do’ mentality.

Terry on HomelessnessPage 2News Pod

“a lot of people who come out of care or ex-offenders who haven't got any real family roots often find them-selves in that vicious cycle of homelessness”

So the whole purpose of them being in supported housing is to move on and to reintegrate into the commu-nity. So for that people need to learn about looking after themselves in every respect whether its cooking, budget-ing, whether its discipline in getting up, going to work or education etc. So having good support packages in place that'll enable them to take responsibility and grow all with the view to moving on in life into the commu-nity and being valuable part and even serving the com-munity. And I think that gets back to my point on, its al-most like a surrogate family for a way, and the values that a family would want to instil in children can be in-stilled.

G:Ok

T:I mean it might be a good opportunity to speak about Grove Court, the housing project that we're gonna be opening soon that we're do-

ing in partnership with Wok-ing Borough Council, the York Road Project and and Surrey County Council Chil-dren's Services. We're [YMCA] looking to open that soon. There'll be about 24 bed spaces. We will be ac-cepting people on a referral and interview basis and as long as people meet the crite-ria we'll be accepting them. We'll have a living caretaker there, the YMCA will have one member of staff and also a qualified social worker who is working with us from Sur-rey County Council Children Services and the York Road Project will also have a cou-ple of staff there as well.

There'll also be ancillary sup-port and back up support at Woking YMCA's Ypod centre where we're open five nights a week and on a weekend where again people can get extra support to develop as I said in training, education but integrating into the com-

munity through fun things like music, the recording studio and also from general drop in to hang out and chill with friends though there'll be professional accredited advice and support by highly trained and qualified Youth Workers, Housing Officers and all CRB enhance –checked working within very strong and strict safe guard-ing policies.

This is a very pioneering and new initiative, a new way of doing things in the current climate. And we're very, very excited that young people now won't get sent into B&B's in Slough where they get no support, where they'll get good integrated holistic support packages with us and with other professionals in Woking.

G:Ok thanks.

within our personality. The more hiding places and cupboards, nooks and crannies and rooms there are within a home, the more places there in which a person can hide their thoughts and secrets. A loving home is a place which we rely on to comfort our fears and anxieties. It is the place which we can retreat to when the world around us seems to be our enemy. It is for this reason that the home in whatever form shapes who we become: a stable home is what is needed to create a calm mind which can learn and focus and think with clarity.

But what happens when when this structure is broken? What does the world look like to someone without a home? Where can the mind take root and grow if one is constantly on the move?

'our house is our corner of the world. As has often been said, it is our first universe'

The quotation above comes from The Poetics of Space, a text in which Gaston Bachelard sets out to define the impact of our home, our first house on the development of our personality and the shaping of our childhood memories. Whilst collating the articles for this issue of News Pod my mind has been thinking about those people with-out a home at this time of year. Apart from suffering the elements – the subzero temperatures, the rain and frost, many people on the 25th December will be spending their time outside of any notion of the word 'home'.

In The Poetics of Space Bachelard states that the very architecture of our homes we explore throughout our childhood become spaces

For a handful of young people this situation will soon change. With the housing project for Woking now nearing completion, the Wok-ing YMCA will be able to offer a few young people the chance of a new living space. More about this will be included in future articles of News Pod as the information is disclosed and if you believe home-lessness is something which should stop, help us by signing up to our next Sleep Easy event in January.

The Poetics of Space

Volume 1 Issue 3

'our house is our corner of the world. As has often been said, it is our first universe'

Page 3

Page 4News Pod

As we know X Factor contest-ants Cher, Katie and Rebecca are all battling it out for a future in the music bizz, but do you know that you don’t have to battle it out for your future? All you have to do is trust God.

You have a hope

and a future

Do you know that when God created the heavens and the earth, He was thinking of you? He chose you before the foundation of the world (Eph1:4). That’s deep! You are more important to God than planet earth. Far more important to God. You are precious in His sight.

Speaking through an old testament prophet God said this, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jer29:11).

FOLLOWING GOD’S PLAN FOR YOUR LIFE God has got a plan for your life! But now its up to you to find out what that plan is and to follow it. “Oh that’s hard, that’s too tough”, really? I just read that God has plans to prosper you! I just read that God has plans to give you a hope and future! That’s not tough! Your future is full of His blessing and favour!

“Yeah but how will I know it? How can I know His plan?” That’s why He gave us the Bible folks. He gave us the Bible so that we would know His plan, accurately. Through the Bible I know that God has not abandoned humanity, certainly not! Through the Bible I know that He has had a plan of redemption for my life and for your life! He sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for our sin! I know that through the Bible! Without the Bible, I wouldn’t know that! That’s why I respect the Bible! It’s a legal document! It’s full of God’s thoughts and God’s plans!

A PROMISE Do you know what a promise is? A promise is to assure somebody that some-thing will certainly happen or be done. When God said, “I have plans” He is saying “Listen, I’m going to make a promise over your life, I am going to assure you that this will certainly hap-pen.” Let’s read that promise again. “For I know the plans (promises) I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a fu-ture” (Jer29:11).

Plans to prosper you, plans to protect you, plans to give you a bright future. If you have a dream in your heart, God will help you do it. If you need to get some relationships right, God will help you do it. If you want peace in your heart, God will help you get it. How will you get it? Claim the promise as your own. Like you would claim your jacket back from lost property! It’s yours! It belongs to you.

objective to help homeless young people.

This is our second year of organis-ing and taking part in the event, but it will be a first experience for some of the staff at the Ypod. Last year, approximately 30 people took part, and it was very successful. The event was held at The Em-manuel Chapel where we all set up camp in the walkway and the car park. It was extremely cold, and we had only soup and hot drinks to keep us warm, which could be seen as a privilege. Staff and friends of Woking YMCA came down, battled the cold weather conditions and stuck it out until the next morning,

We at the Woking YMCA will be taking part in a national event called Sleep Easy. It will involve all staff and friends of Woking YCMA to sleep on the streets for one night, to experience what the homeless young people experience.

The event is to raise awareness for the homeless young people all across Britain; we are creating an awareness for homeless young peo-ple in Woking. Statistically the per-centage of young homeless people is increasing day by day, at a fright-ening rate. As an organisation that works with youth it is our aim and

waking up (some didn’t even sleep!) feeling tired, cold, hungry but at the same time happy that they took part and with a knowledge of how it feels to be homeless. We are hoping for much much more participants to really get the message out that this cause is a cause worth fighting for. The more we can do to help these young people who have to battle the horrible weather conditions, lack of food, or drink, neglect and no sleep the better. The event will gain spon-sorships from participants and or-ganisations from around the area, which will go towards our housing project for the young people. Its all for a well worth cause!

Volume 1 Issue 3 Page 5

Let’s just look at that thought ‘not to harm you’. We all know that poverty is harmful right? We see it on the charity ad-verts, we see it in our own communities, we might have even seen it in ur bank accounts or in our wallets. Poverty is harmful, it robs people of their basic rights to life. Well when God said His plans are ‘not to harm you’, He meant, “I don’t want you poor”. No way! He has ‘plans to prosper you’. He wants to meet your needs all the time, every time (Phil 4:19). God looks after His children. He’s a good Father! He never wants you to go without.

ONLY GOODNESS A lot of people get uptight when you talk about the goodness of God. They say “its too good to be true”. No it’s not folks. It’s bible! “Surely or only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and through the length of my days the house of the Lord [andHis presence] shall be my dwelling place.” (Psalm 23:6).

I’m staying with the goodness of God, are you?

“For I know the plans I have for

you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you

hope and a future”

Jeremiah 29:11

Sleep Easy