My Day with Bromley Homeless
By Ian Scott
I’ve recently volunteered for a local charity, Bromley Homeless, and they’ve asked me to immediately step in to help them raise funds. But first I wanted to know more;
- Why would anyone donate or take time to fundraise for Bromley Homeless?
- What is it that Bromley Homeless does?
- What marks them out when compared to other local charities?
- I live in Bromley – I don’t usually see homeless people on the streets, isn’t it the Council’s job and the government’s, to look after the homeless?
- Why do we need to have a charity specialising in homelessness in this wealthy, middle class London suburb?
With these thoughts in mind, I took a volunteering day off and decided I would spend some time with Bromley Homeless, getting to know them and their work. I wanted to try to understand its necessity. At the United Reformed Church (URC), I am greeted by David. He’s a trustee and defacto IT manager. We chat about fundraising plans but as the team arrives we’re getting in the way. They’re polite, friendly, but nervous. I’ve been introduced to them as a ‘roving reporter’ who would like to ask questions and take videos.
The main admin office is Kim’s fiefdom, she’s the Services Manager. It’s her office that she shares with the others. Today it’s Lulu and Yvette, who politely reminds me that I am sitting in her seat.
Having briefly met the team I could tell I was a spare part as Kim wanted to get on with the issues of the day. Being a drop-in centre, there’s no way that Kim can entirely predict what’s going to happen, it’s only her experience, training and skilled team that can help her with that. Clients have already come in and are being helped by Emma and Martin. They’re both volunteers who assist with clients in the day room. Martin particularly helps with the computers. He was a client with Bromley Homeless who was helped into accommodation. He was a construction engineering lecturer that found himself homeless upon his return from India. Now he’s taken the opportunity to give back.
He described to me being homeless in Bangalore and Goa before being able to return to the UK. He states categorically “the help I received here at Bromley homeless saved my life”. He received help on all the hoops and hurdles that he had to go through. He describes how Bromley Homeless “can guide you in a way that it [homelessness] is not a traumatic experience. Otherwise, you are on your own and you don’t know who to turn to, they stop that slide into nothingness”. He talks passionately about being housed within a month and how it was such a relief when he could close his own door. I could talk with Martin all day, he’s so positive and upbeat because as he explains to me, “he’s giving a little bit back”. He’s a great advert for volunteering in general, and clearly a help to Bromley Homeless.
Throughout the morning I interview the staff. I find myself in one of the consulting rooms, however it’s also a storage room for some of the donations provided, including a shopping trolley used to transport shopping from the nearby Sainsbury’s. Today it’s stuffed with clothes. It’s not ideal, like much of the space rented off the URC. Clients of Bromley Homeless have to work their way through a narrow corridor to get to the main meeting rooms. The smaller offices are used for one-to-one consulting and counselling sessions. It’s hard for me to judge how many people are attending the drop in as by its very nature it is busy and reasonably hectic, but I think about 20-30 individuals may have been through the doors.
Clients are taking comfort in being in a safe comfortable environment, where you can get a hot drink, food, help and advice. There are public access computers for clients to access their council services, benefits etc. It is part of Martin’s role to facilitate this and he helps clients work through their applications and claims.
Long term, I hear of a plan for a larger space, more purpose built with more appropriate facilities but frankly the location of the URC in central Bromley seems ideal, close to public transport and council services. I can’t see any surplus cash here either – could this be just a pipedream, a utopian future where somehow the resources meet demand?
I speak with the Advice Workers whose role it is to triage clients that present themselves. Helping clients with Universal Credit claims, making sure housing option forms are done before looking to place them in private rented accommodation. Rachel tells me of the current process, including some of the economics. She explains how landlords claim £892 pcm for a room in a multiple occupation house or flat. But for under-35s the amount is £450 per calendar month and she describes how it can be very hard to find private rented sector accommodation for that age group. Seems unfair to me but this is just part of the system everyone has to work with.
Once housed, Bromley Homeless then provide a support network, including the drop-in surgery. They then are able to refer to the Bromley Drug Advisory Service (BDAS) or perhaps assist in facilitating GP services. This is a specialised service facilitated by Bromley Homeless at the URC. These GP Alliance surgeries run every Thursday over the winter period in November to March. Bromley Homeless will also help with any forms for clients in the process of job applications. I wonder, maybe they could give my CV a once over?
I hear a constant theme in all of my discussions; they want to ensure that I leave with the
understanding that suffering homelessness is traumatic. What’s more, I’m told that you are more likely to become homeless / a rough sleeper if you have suffered previous traumatic experiences. So housing is only part of the answer. So much of the focus has to be on how Bromley Homeless can help the clients with whatever problems they have, beyond not having a home.
I asked Olga to describe what she likes about Bromley Homeless:
“Gosh, for me it’s just joy when I see people’s lives transformed, lots of them coming here like rough sleepers and within a short time suddenly they have a roof over their heads, they’re fed, dressed and we have counsellors, so they get mental health support, if they are addicted they get referred to other services, yes, yes, it’s a massive transformation”.
This leads me onto the second-half of my day where Caroline lets me into a support and discussion group. She’s described these as a themed discussion, being open and fluid. It is done over lunch which helps generate camaraderie and bonding as the food is shared. The discussion today seems to be about self-respect and self-worth. Caroline has a skill, she gently guides the topic asking tactfully for contributions, allowing individuals to decline or to contribute as they like. There’s one gentleman who doesn’t participate at all, facing away from the rest, but it’s clear to me he’s listening. There’s safety here, bonding and kinship from their shared experience of homelessness. Martin contributes from his experience as a client turned volunteer. One attendee is actually on his phone, only he’s on hold to HMRC or some other similar department going mad from the incessant, ‘one of our advisors will be with you shortly’.
I’m starting to understand now that whilst you might get help being housed and you might be able to get benefits, this doesn’t mean it’s easy. What’s more you don’t have a home to work from to contact these agencies. You’ve probably got other issues that compound the problem. This is where the Bromley Homeless advisory services can help. To give you the time, the space and some respite to allow you to make some sense of your predicament. And to then be able to do something positive about it.
At the end of the session everyone ‘checks out’ and there’s some true honesty in the room, I myself having taken a real dose of positivity from just being included.
My day is coming to an end and I try to get some time with Kim. However, she is still busy, busy, busy, and we agree it must be another time. It’s almost time to close the drop-in surgery for the day, only a new client approaches me as I say goodbye to the team. He’s looking in need, bewildered, perhaps not even comfortable in asking for help. I’m told many clients feel the stigma of homelessness and don’t always present themselves until their problems become quite acute. I leave him with Kim and Emma and I hope that they can help him as best they can.
What I’ve learnt from the day is that the drop-in surgery is a busy environment where the staff and volunteers persevere. Its main function is to firstly treat people with dignity and respect, giving them a safe space, to help themselves or to allow themselves to be assisted by the staff and volunteers. Somehow to get them into some better place. This might be to get a roof over their head but it might also be to prevent an impending homelessness issue escalating or to be able to maintain a tenancy.
What’s clear is that this is not easy. Homelessness is a significantly traumatic experience that is usually combined with other issues, what Bromley Homeless is doing is trying to get a stable environment for clients, stable accommodation (even if it is temporary), so that they can start to reconnect with family, friends and society in general.
I’ve covered only some of what I’ve seen at Bromley Homeless and I will return in coming newsletters to provide some more detail about what this amazing charity does. However, I must end with an appeal for funds. This service can’t run on a shoestring and volunteers. It needs cash and regular donations, sponsorship activities and people to participate in any social events. The good news is that I’ve seen its money well spent, in contributing you will be part of an amazing charity that makes a real difference.
Thank you and please spread the word, either by mouth or your favourite social media.