could provide a warm welcome at one of our centres as someone takes the first step to finding a safe, secure home.
could give someone an hour of one-to-one support and coaching with one of our lead workers; helping them develop skills to find, secure and maintain a home or a job.
could help three people with gas and electricity costs when they're setting up their new home or struggling to make their bills.
could help someone leaving prison who is at immediate risk of homelessness to be supported by our CTI teams in Swansea or Merseyside for one month.
Or
a month could help provide someone with information and advice to support their journey out of homelessness.
a month could help fund one of our support workers to help someone budget and manage their expenses as they settle into their new home.
a month could help provide someone with one-to-one support in finding a secure place to live, so they leave homelessness for good.
a month could help support someone leaving homelessness behind with training, enabling them to gain employment.
Or
"As well as providing people with homes, you need to give them job opportunities and training so they can develop new skills. Not just to get a job but also to feel good about themselves and to reach their full potential."
John
“If I hadn't gone to Crisis, I'd still have been in the hostel and worrying about finding somewhere to live. Now I can get on with life, and not just exist. I hope that I can work full-time and live an independent life; provide for myself and my son.”
After leaving prison, John went into premises approved by probation, where he was given just weeks to find a home of his own.
Sharon at Crisis’ Merseyside Skylight worked alongside John so he could rebuild his life: ‘’My job was to help bridge the gap from leaving prison. The first step was to find and apply for flats with social landlords, which isn’t easy for prison leavers. One came up in the area he wanted and fortunately, he got it. We were then able to help him turn the bare rooms into a home by sourcing carpet, some furniture and blinds’’
But that’s not where our support ended.
“After John started with AA, we supported him to improve his mental health and develop a plan for the future. John told me he really enjoys gardening, so we supported him on a horticultural course and a part-time volunteering job to give him experience and is now planning to start his own gardening business.”
Ex-offenders leaving prison often struggle to access accommodation either before, or after their release. This is not only because of difficulties getting new housing upon release, but also because people who had accommodation before their arrest can lose it while in custody.
Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, we have been able to pilot our Critical Time Intervention programme (CTI) programme here in Merseyside, as well as at our Skylight in South Wales, which goes far beyond finding someone a home.
Our CTI programme supports people at higher risk of homelessness during periods of transition, providing rapid access to housing. It also features an intensive case management approach, which addresses the particular needs of people once they have security of accommodation.
The best way to tackle homelessness is to stop it happening in the first place. To do so is both compassionate and cost effective. But gaps still exist that prevent some of us from getting the help we need, when we need it most.
By supporting Crisis, you are helping us bring approaches like CTI to those who need it most. Every donation goes towards a life beyond homelessness.
