THE P RTAL
March 2018 Page 8
But , that doesn ’ t mean we don ’ t take a large number of people who have complex mental health or personal needs .
“ We have five floors here . The middle floor is women only . We only run with one or two vacancies . When a resident moves out we already have a list of people accepted and ready to move in . The charity is very successful at doing what it sets out to do . The journey as it ’ s described to the residents is as individual as the people themselves , but each has a keyworker who facilitates their stay according to their needs . Some are working when they come here , or they get a job very quickly . Many are working long hours . They go out early , come back late at night to have some supper and go to bed ; then they get up early for breakfast and out again for work .”
Turning to other matters , Andy told us , “ Over the years , there has been a large development associated with CAH . The first phase was to redecorate the rooms , which they did successfully about ten years ago . The next phase was to knock down the dance hall and the bar and facilities .
“ The second phase was to build up these offices . Above here , corresponding with the five residential floors , are twenty five what we call “ move on flats ”. These are for those who have been in the main house . It ’ s for some of them , not all will get the opportunity to move into a very nice one bedded flat with a kitchenette and a sitting room and have about six to nine months to prepare for more independent living and to cater for themselves .
“ The third stage of development is the Barn . We have as part of CAH a large frame building awaiting internal design and construction to provide facilities for a whole host of activities that will support work with residents and those in the wider community ; a new kitchen and training facilities and rooms ; a large space for conferences or community integration . While the frame is there , the development is paused while the organisation takes stock of where it is and where the basic demand for services around homelessness is going in the future . We have to try to ensure it broadens its work and equips itself to provide resources for the community in the future .
“ Once people go through their journey and we see they are ready to meet life outside of CAH , then we have a specialist team who help to prepare them to move on . Move on means different things in different circumstances . Unfortunately , although Newham have a commitment to try to make fifteen units available a year , so far we have six this year . They are hoping to
give us the remaining nine over the next two months . The year ends in April .
“ They are under huge pressure because Shelter research has shown that of all the homeless hotspots Newham is reportedly huge . It is 1 in 25 in a population of 340,000 !
“ We have a very skilled and experienced team . They have good relationships , not only with the council , but with local landlords . That seems to be where the competition is in the housing community , to know your landlords . We are , apparently , very successful but I ’ m learning that it ’ s more difficult for those who are working to find accommodation than those who are not .
“ It ’ s to do with the benefits , and the regularity of the income , and the fact that arrangements can be made , as I understand it , direct to the landlords . So , that ’ s good in one respect , but we have to work very hard if somebody is working as they go up the score for the housing list for the local authority , so that ’ s a positive , but we can get in a situation where people are working and ready to go but they cant leave here because they are going up the housing list and that ’ s a tension because we have other who are waiting to come in .”
We asked if CAH accept donations from the general public . Andy replied , “ We do indeed .”
Jackie asked , “ What about volunteer help ?” Andy was cautious in his reply . “ Yes we are always keen to talk to people about volunteering , but we are not equipped for taking large number of volunteers . Volunteers need facilitating as much as full time staff do . We haven ’ t got the resources . But we do have volunteers for an amount of tasks , and yes we do welcome volunteers .” Andy added , “ We are engaging in a full service review . Among other things , it will be looking at how we use volunteers , specifically how our residents volunteer , not only in CAH but in the community . This is also part of their preparation for re-joining the outside world proper . There are 140 people here who are being helped to change their lives in which they have hope for the future . We also have follow ups , and I have people say “ hello ” and then I found out they left us three or four years ago . They often come back and volunteer .”
Thank you Andy for your time and welcome for The
Portal . We wish you well in the future , and will always remember Caritas Anchor House at 81 Barking Road , Canning Town , London , E16 4HB .
CAH is an impressive charity , and one worthy of our support . You may find more information at www . caritasanchorhouse . org . uk .