Christmas is coming! Our virtual advent calendar is launching on our social media channels today, featuring original poetry written by people with lived experience and performed by service users, volunteers and members of the SSJ team.

The poems communicate different aspects of homelessness, covering topics including drug misuse, mental health issues, and addiction recovery.

The calendar also shows how you can donate to specific causes, such as buying a hot meal or a Christmas gift for our service users. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter (X) to unveil the advent doors throughout December!

This Christmas, Society of St James aim to raise £15,000 to help support people experiencing homelessness in Southampton, Portsmouth and across Hampshire. We hope that this appeal will help to break the stigma surrounding homelessness and fund essential services and support for vulnerable people this Christmas and throughout the year.

SSJ will be working with local businesses to encourage fundraising events such as Christmas Jumper Days and cake sales to help reach our £15,000 target. The charity urges businesses to share photos of their fundraisers on social media, tagging them and using the hashtag #SSJChristmas.

Chief Executive Trevor Pickup said:

 “Homelessness is a complex and often misunderstood issue that affects thousands across our region. Many people face stigma, discrimination, and isolation because of their housing situation. They are often blamed for their own misfortune, or ignored by society.

But we believe that everyone deserves dignity, respect and compassion. That’s why we are launching this campaign to raise awareness and funds for our work with people who are homeless and are facing multiple problems. We want to show them that they are not alone, that they are valued, they have hope for the future and that we will carry on supporting them despite what can often present as a protracted and cyclical journey to independence.”

To get involved, visit our social media channels today, or visit our dedicated Christmas Appeal page to view our fundraising packs and learn more about our fundraising goals.

SSJ provides a comprehensive range of services, including hostels, transitional housing, substance misuse services and an academy of life skills classes, volunteering, sport and craft opportunities. By successfully implementing these services, the organisation challenges the stigma associated with homelessness, provides support and rehabilitation, and promotes sustainable solutions to reduce the number of individuals experiencing homelessness.

Inspired by the IOM Snowdon trip, committed and brave fundraiser, Lenny Court, aged 9, also decided to climb Mount Snowdon in July to raise funds to support people who have been rough sleeping.

Lenny has been supporting our work since he was 5 collecting donations to help the homeless starting with 100 coats in 2019, 200 hats, gloves and scarfs in 2020, 300 shoes in 2021 and 400 toiletry items in 2022.  For 2023 he is aiming to raise £500 to buy welcome packs for rough sleepers moving into temporary accommodation.

Lenny’s dedication and determination were truly inspiring. With the support of his mum, Rachel, and a heart full of compassion, he tackled the mountain with the spirit of a true adventurer. “We had such a brilliant time,” Rachel shared. “Lenny was up that mountain like a whippet! He was so proud of himself, chatting with anyone and everyone about what he was doing and who for. It was just brilliant!”

Climbing Snowdon was no easy feat, but Lenny refused to give up. The purpose behind his climb served as a driving force, pushing him forward even when the going got tough. “I never gave up,” added Lenny. “I was thinking about all the homeless people I could help get off the streets and have better lives.”

Lenny’s heartfelt efforts touched the hearts of many, and the response was overwhelming. Not only did he achieve his initial goal of £500, but he went above and beyond, raising a total of £1170! His dedication and the generosity of those who supported him meant that more rough sleepers would receive the essential welcome packs they deserved.

Lenny’s journey reminds us all that age is just a number when it comes to making a difference in our society. He proves that a small act of kindness can create a ripple effect of compassion and change. We are immensely grateful to Lenny for his selfless commitment to improving the lives of others.

Thank you, Lenny, for being a shining example of how one young heart can make a big impact. Your efforts have not only provided tangible support to those in need but have also shown us the true meaning of compassion and empathy.

I’m writing this at a time where the most vulnerable in society are being impacted by a national emergency, the cost of living crisis.

Recently the Office for National Statistics announced another record breaking increase to the rate of inflation.  This is obviously going to have an impact on many people across the country in the coming months and SSJ also needs to consider the impact on us as an organisation.

Costs are rising across a whole range of items, including food and household items, gas and electricity, fuel and travel as well as costs linked to maintaining our houses.  Many of our costs are the same as those incurred by any ordinary household.  We run a number of housing projects in order to accommodate as many people as possible, and the cost of running these services is steadily increasing.

We are also dependent on having wonderful staff who work hard to provide support and care to those we are seeking to assist.   Our staff are faced with same increases to their costs of living and may need to be paid more as a result.  We are also conscious that with the general shortage of staff in many sectors, we need to be able to offer increased salaries, otherwise we will not be able to fill our vacant posts.

We are also concerned about the impact of this on our service users and clients.  Many are dependent on welfare benefits, which are also not keeping up with inflation.  The challenges of trying to live on Universal Credit have been well publicised and can become an additional burden for those who are trying to resettle into the community after having been homeless.

For example, we are pleased to be able to offer some people the chance to move from shared accommodation into their own flat.  However, this process will often trigger a new benefit claim, which takes a number of weeks to be processed.  Therefore, people who are moving into a flat often immediately struggle to put money in their fuel meters and to buy their initial food.   

We are able to use some of the donations we have received to provide a food parcel and help with the gas and electricity.  However, once someone has moved in and their benefits have been received they still need to budget incredibly carefully to manage within their weekly budget.  We anticipate this will become more and more of an issue in the coming months.

This blog was originally sent out via our Newsletter last month. If you want to read the latest news first, you can subscribe to our newsletter here.

If you want to support SSJ, you can donate here – or email fundraising@SSJ.org.uk

Items needed: Sun cream, re-useable water bottles, hats and sun glasses.

Temperatures are expected to reach as high as 40° this week – and we want to make sure our projects have all the provisions they need and for service users to have easy access to water and sun cream when they are out and about.

The items listed above are classed as urgent as we want to make sure we have enough to carry us through the rest of the summer – to help protect service users and people affected by homelessness from the threat of dehydration, sun burn and heat-stroke.

If you can help, please email Info@ssj.org.uk

Thank you.

As we approach the middle year of our 50th anniversary, I am looking back at the year 2007 – and our 35th Anniversary memorial Booklet, which was produced to celebrate 35 years of supporting people affected by homelessness.

Over the next few weeks, I plan on reproducing some of the content from that booklet – as a reminder of who we are and where we have come from. It’s so important that we are able to look back at the journey we have been on, as well as the growth we have seen as a charity. It’s thanks to that growth that we are able to help and support more and more people each year.

Since the booklet was produced in 2007, we have opened a cafe where the public can pay it forward, taken on two care homes – and increased our support network for homeless people across Hampshire.

So let’s take a look at some of the stories from the booklet.

Patsy

We have already told the story about Patsy. Our CEO wrote a blog about him nearly two years ago, you can read that here.

The booklet goes on to say that Patsy was a well known and well-loved character around St James. Unfortunately, his drinking kept him unsettled, and he was in and out of the shelter and detox unit – but was most often found sleeping rough. Anne Barrett had the chance to take a number of portraits of Patsy, and from these, a painting was created – and this still hangs on the wall of our CEO, Trevor Pickup at our head office.

Sadly, one evening, Patsy was drinking and sleeping rough. It was a cold night and he went to sleep in a ‘skipper’, where he got locked in and sadly, suffered an alcohol induced seizure. Patsy was found unconscious the next day but passed away in hospital a few days later.

We would highly recommend reading the blog by Trevor to understand more about the character of Patsy.

Jason was homeless at Christmas

Jason said; “Last Christmas (2020) I was living in my friends van, drinking to excess to keep myself warm. I was working occasional cash in hand jobs where I could to try to get money for my children’s Christmas presents -while neglecting my own needs like having food. I would wash in local streams or wherever I could to try and make myself presentable for when I did see my Children.”

“Christmas is the season of giving but it felt like there was nothing left for me. I felt like a burden to my family. It was really hard watching other people go home to their families while I went back to the van.”

“This will be my first Christmas with SSJ; I’m really looking forward to helping make the Christmas dinner as originally, I was a chef by trade. I have a roof over my head and a warm room.”

Support us this Christmas

We are fast approaching Christmas and people are already busily following street lights under the haze of the cold evenings, watching the displays in windows as they search for a gift to share with their loved ones which tells them they are not alone.

Christmas for most people is a time of reflection and joy. It’s a time when we can come together and recognise how lucky we are to be able to enjoy time with friends and family, reflecting on the year behind us and focusing on celebrating of love, forgiveness and togetherness.

It’s the opposite for those in our care as they come to grips with a Christmas away from the comforts of a warm home. They won’t be unwrapping presents in front of loved ones, they won’t be anticipating the taste of a cooked bird and the feast that accompanies it and they won’t sit back reminiscing with family members about days gone by.

Donate to our 2021 appeal by clicking here

By supporting our Christmas appeal, you’re providing hope, happiness and a little bit of the Christmas spirit to people who have and expect nothing at a time of year where loneliness can impact mental health and emotional wellbeing.

If you want to read more about our Christmas Appeal, visit our dedicated page and read about Jason’s journey – from homelessness at Christmas to the support he has received from The Society of St James, where he is now planning for a better and brighter future and a Christmas he can enjoy in 2021.

In 2020 we were able spend £4,500 on Asda Gift Vouchers for residents, approximately £4,200 on Christmas dinners for residents with suitable facilities, and where this wasn’t possible the Cafe in the Park produced a special Christmas hamper which was distributed to residents. Many residents were able to enjoy spending time with other service users and the true spirit of Christmas was in place for those who benefited from the 2020 campaign.

Donate to our campaign by visiting this link and help us raise £10,000 in 2021.

If you want to support our campaign or would like more information, email Dennis.Jones@SSJ.org.uk 

Autumn, Winter and Christmas is an important time for us at SSJ – as we start thinking about the colder nights, rain, snow and other elements that may affect people during the darker nights.

It’s also at this time that we start planning for the launch of our Christmas Campaign (October 15th) which follows directly on from World Homeless Day on October 10th.

We have many stories we want to tell during these winter months – and once again we will be committing to raise money for our Christmas Meal Campaign, as we have done every year.

How you can help?

We are looking for community groups, businesses and anybody who wants to support us this Christmas to get in touch and let us know they want to support our Christmas Meal Campaign. The appeal will be going live on October 15th – and we want to give you the heads of as to what to expect, how much we need to raise and what will be happening during the winter months.

If you’re looking for a challenge this winter, please think about committing your support to our Christmas Campaign and help provide a more positive future for people affected by homelessness.

If you want to support us, email Dennis.Jones@SSJ.org.uk – we’d be happy to give you a call for a chat. We’re planning a Zoom meeting before the launch to talk about our Christmas plans, if that interests you email Comms@SSJ.org.uk (Headline: Christmas Talk) and we will add you to the list and let you know the details.

Ideas: Winter runs, fundraising evening, concerts, quizzes, staff events & more.

Summer seemed to go fast, didn’t it? We’ve had an interesting time in fundraising – most of the excitement came from our online art festival, but we have also had some fantastic donations come in which we have really appreciated.

As we approach winter we are looking at the end of the long days and the start of the cold winter nights. With this come the bad weather we expect – and before we know it Christmas will be here (more on that soon, we have plans!).

Winter is a time which can be even more difficult for our service users as the evenings close in and the wet weather arrives. There is still time to fundraise for us!

Just because the evenings will be darker soon it doesn’t mean the end of long walks, runs and fitness goals. The winter is a great time to get outdoors and be active – and to use that time to raise money for people affected by homelessness.

As I said we have something really exciting launching in October (spoilers!) but till then why not take the chance to raise money for SSJ?

Why not run, walk, jog, sleep, dance, throw, joke or sing your way to glory this year and help raise money for people affected by homelessness.

We’ve been ultra-nice as well – check out the video below to learn how to set up a JustGiving page for your event.

Email Dennis.Jones@SSJ.org.uk and tell us how you plan to raise money,

From all at SSJ.

Hampshire & IoW Community Fund has awarded £2,100 to the Society of St James and Re-Fit which will help pay for much-needed mountain bikes.

Re-Fit offers vulnerable people who have been affected by complex issues the chance to enjoy sporting activities such as long distance mountain biking trips – which helps with fitness as well as mental health.

The bikes which were being used by the team were starting to fall apart and required regular maintenance to work as they should. The new bikes mean the team will now have 10 new reliable bikes that can be used by team members on their road to recovery.

Ashley Christopher, Team Leader at Re-Fit said: “Being able to purchase the new bikes means we have secured the future of our mountain biking activities which are such a benefit to the service users.

“We get to see the benefit this has on the service users through improved mental health and better fitness – so these bikes will play a big part in improving the lives of those who are recovering from homelessness or addictions.”

The Society of St. James ReFit Project is run in partnership with Pompey in the Community and offers free educational, sport, and employment support activities to adults who are affected by the harmful impact of substance misuse, homelessness, poor mental health, and involvement with the Criminal Justice System.

Alongside the physical activities, we also offer many other opportunities for people to develop their skills and confidence, including access to training and education, with courses such as Health and Social Care, First Aid, Stewarding, Criminology, and Customer Service available.