OFF THE STREETS

Off the Streets (OTS) is a grassroots charity in Southend-on-Sea which was started by a few local people seeing a need in their community to help and support some of it’s most vulnerable members. The Charity provides emergency & transitional housing and life skills training for homeless people. It assists rough sleepers, as they move from chaotic, often abusive lives into independent, self-sufficient lifestyles. Additionally, the charity supports guests in areas of employment, mental health, domestic abuse and alcohol & drug addiction. 

Due to the pandemic we had to close our night shelter at 505, London Rd, Westcliff-on-Sea. Since then, the charity has continued to provide outreach support to those in need. We distribute donations of food, clothing, toiletries, phone top-ups and other essential items to homeless people in the community. A large part of the work of OTS is to help people move on to permanent accommodation. Over the last 2 years, we have supported 125 rough sleepers & other homeless people to find and move into their own accommodation.

At Off The Streets, we make every effort to support people in terms of their emotional & psychological needs but our first priority is to assist people with their physical needs. As a small charity however, we are often limited in what we can provide. In the last 2 months alone, we have spent just over £3,000 on food & food parcels, clothing, household items, toiletries and gas, electricity & phone top-ups. This is not sustainable at this level every month although we anticipate spending between £700 - £1,000 per month on these items throughout the year.

The vast majority of the people we support are on benefits only or have no access to public funds. Without exception, these same people will have a range of personal difficulties which include: poor physical health, mental health problems, experience of violence, abuse or neglect, drug and alcohol addiction, bereavement, relationship breakdown, experience of the care system, served a prison term or are refugees. 

Through a combination of financial difficulties, personal problems and the insecure nature of their lifestyles, they often go without adequate food, clothing, warmth or a place to sleep. Supporting individuals and families in these circumstances with funding from this crowdfunder appeal would ensure they do not go hungry; have clean, warm clothing & bedding; have sufficient toiletries to attend to personal hygiene; are provided with the wherewithal to maintain contact with others (mobile top-ups) as a means of staving off loneliness and ensuring they have sufficient heating over the winter months (gas & electricity top-ups). Ultimately, the goal is to help them move away from homelessness altogether.

Each week, Off The Streets offers direct support to between 55 & 60 people. This includes rough sleepers, people ‘sofa surfing’, families in hostels, ex-offenders in hostels and refugees. 

In 2018, Southend was the 8th highest town in the UK for the number of rough sleepers. Despite the presence of Off the Streets, HARP and the churches’ Winter Night Shelters, there are still people sleeping on the streets of Southend. The last Council count found a further 25 people sleeping rough.

We have secured a small hotel building that, once refurbished, will allow us to provide shelter for and to move 108 vulnerable rough sleepers and other homeless people into permanent accommodation every year. Our ‘Stepping Stone House’ has 7 bedrooms one of which will feature a specialist en-suite room on the ground floor- featuring accessible toilet and shower facilities. This room will provide appropriate and desperately needed temporary accommodation for an unhoused disabled person whilst they navigate the complex housing application and assessment process. The new building also contains 2 double bedrooms which can accommodate homeless couples who otherwise are separated in shelters of this nature.

From consultation with a range of homeless people, within the new property we plan to have a variety of support services accessible from one place to help encourage engagement between guests and other services. This would include services such as benefits advice, support for those seeking employment, support with mental health & wellbeing, wound care and substance misuse. We also plan to provide food for our guests donated by local restaurants, shops & bakeries. 

Overall, our thrust is to enable greater access to community based organisations, to promote greater social inclusion and help reduce prejudice & discrimination against some of the most vulnerable members of our society. 

Our success indicators include: 

1) increase in the number of people relocated to permanent tenancies

2) reduction in number of homeless people requiring emergency accommodation 

3) reduction of rough sleepers generally and 

4) reduction in deaths among rough sleepers.