The Society of St James are delighted to have been awarded the contract to continue providing substance misuse services and recovery housing for Portsmouth residents on behalf of Portsmouth City Council.    We have partnered with Inclusion (Part of the Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust) to deliver a service focused on helping our clients make their lives better.

The contract has now started and we are launching our new website www.portsmouthrecovery.org to support a more accessible service.  Please visit the site to find out more or if you’re concerned about your drug or alcohol use, or affected by someone else’s.

We provided the opportunity for service users to experience the thrill and excitement of a bike ride to and from Sandown, a coastal town on the east side of the island.

The trip was made possible thanks to a £4K grant from the My Journey grant, provided by Southampton City Council. And £2K from the West Quay – Hampshire & IoW Community Fund. These grants were given to help replace our existing fleet of mountain bikes, ensuring the ongoing success and benefits to our service users.

It was a very enjoyable day. It was great to go on a bike ride in a different place. It would be amazing to be given a chance to go again.

Here’s the story in the words of Ash Christopher, Re-Fit Team Leader:

“On 17th June 2021, twelve of the participants embarked on a cycling adventure to the Isle of Wight (IoW). The plan was to catch the ferry to East Cowes and then cycle to Sandown, have a swim, a bit to eat and cycle back again. A total of 35 miles. This was to be our furthest ride to date, so in preparation, we needed to build up stamina and speed to make the journey, so we completed a number of pre-IoW rides clocking ever increasing distances.

“On the day we met at 8:30am at the bike garage to make the last-minute safety and equipment checks before we left. We then set out from the garage at 9am and got to the Town Quay Red Funnel Ferry terminal by 9:20am, where we bought our tickets. By 10am we were then on board, leaving for the island. Once we disembarked in East Cowes, at 11am. We headed up York Avenue, a steep hill leading out towards Osborne House, the home of Queen Victoria, on our way to Newport to get onto the Red Squirrel Way cycle path. The total distance from East Cowes to Sandown was 16 miles, we had to climb steep hills and navigate busy roundabouts and traffic.

“Having arrived in Sandown after a 2hr cycle ride we had earned a well-deserved rest. We tucked into our packed lunches and some of us were brave enough to go for a dip in the sea. We only had 1hr before we set off on the return journey back. On the return journey we were up against the clock, needing to board the 4:30pm return ferry, in East Cowes. Everyone gave it their all, in the sun, wind and rain. We arrived with 15 minutes to spare.

“It was fantastic to see the riders come together as a group, supporting, motivating and encouraging each other, whilst sharing in this great adventure.”

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with Jay commenting that “it was a very enjoyable day. It was great to go on a bike ride in a different place. It would be amazing to be given a chance to go again.” One service-user also said that “the Isle of Wight was a memorable trip, good fun and a really nice change to cycle somewhere I’ve never been before.”

This would not have been possible without the support from My Journey Hampshire and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Community Fund. 

Homeless Link today published a blog by Nicole Forster and Bev Alder from SSJ. We secured funding from Homeless Link’s Ending Women’s Homelessness Fund and commenced the Horizon Project in November 2019 – and this blog focuses on the work we have been doing in the months following the award of that funding.

The blog also goes into detail about what happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, all those who were homeless in Portsmouth, regardless of gender, were assessed by Portsmouth City Council (PCC) and the SSJ Homeless Day Service and housed temporarily within two hotels under the ‘Everybody In’ initiative from the end of March until mid-September.

We highly recommend reading the Homeless Link Member Blog.

You can read it here.

You can also read about International Women’s Day 2020, which was part of the Ending Women’s Homelessness Fund and Horizon Project.

And you can read our news article about the funding for Horizons here.

At St James Care, our service users are vulnerable – and are isolated away from all signs of spring. We want to give them something to smile about, to brighten their day, to spread as much colour as we can to help them cope with isolation.

We’re looking for donations of flowers, hanging baskets filled with colourful plants, as well as bedding plants – to help bring Spring to the residents and to help them relax and unwind during these testing times.

Do you own or work for a business that can help provide some much-needed colour for our residents?

Email: karen.ward@ssj.org.uk

Due to restrictions set in place by the UK Government to combat Covid-19, some of our services have gone into hibernation. Projects such as ReFit help our service users the chance to find their way to a healthy and active mind.

Whilst the services are currently not open and active, support workers have been putting together ways for the service users to practise some of the techniques they have learned – and they have also created a programme to help them with their wellness during the time of social distancing.

With that in mind, we thought it would be an idea to share some of these with you – so you can see what our service users are doing. You might even fancy taking on a few yourself to help combat the loneliness and stresses we are all going through at the moment.

Keeping fit, active and well during social distancing is not impossible. Please remember, this is a blog written based on guidelines given to our service users to help them stay positive. Here are some suggestions.

• Find a small space – around 5ft by 5ft and use this to do some stretches to warm up. Once you have loosened all muscles, find some equipment within your accommodation to move onto advanced routines. For example, if you have some empty plastic bottles you can fill these with water and use them as weights to lift as you stretch. If you’re looking for inspiration there are many videos on YouTube that help you learn good stretches to do indoors. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cRmxy3tSjQ
• We all love a good dance – and one of the things I love to do is dance around when washing up. Sure, my housemate might look at me and laugh – but for me, it is a great way of unwinding and letting it all go as I dance and sing along to a combination of 80s and 90s music. Again, make sure you have enough room around you, test space by turning in circles by holding your arms out – and then put music on and just go for it. I recommend finding a suitable playlist on YouTube, or, something on the radio.
• Being fit and healthy isn’t just about being physically active. For me, one of the most important things is being able to help my mind relax and unwind after a day which may have been quite stressful. For me, I love listening to what I call ‘mind sounds’ on YouTube. There are channels with soft music, sounds of rain, the sound of trees blowing in the wind, the sea – and these give me the chance to sit back and unwind – blocking out everything else around me. When I get the chance I also like to sit back and enjoy a book – short stories, novels, or poems. This means I can take myself away from the world I am in and straight into a story that fills my mind with so much magic.
• Being creative is another way to help the mind relax. Whether you use a pen, pencil, paints, or another medium – putting your ideas down on paper can help the mind refocus. I love sketching little ideas in my book – I’ve drawn things from memory – including some of my favourite scenes from across the country. I’ve also drawn a clown – which seems odd – but it was what came to me at the time. You don’t have to spend money on any equipment; some of the best ideas have come from having a simple pen and paper.
• Finally, one close to my heart. I love writing poetry. I have written hundreds – and sure, some of them aren’t any good, but I enjoy getting words down on paper. Even if I don’t have a pen and paper handy, I can record the poem using the voice app on my phone; type them into my notes, or even straight onto a computer. I challenge myself to write 2 poems each week and I have covered many topics. Writing poetry soon extended to short stories, then it became my job and I have learned so much more about writing because of that.

I am distancing myself from people because I have asthma and if I get Coronavirus, it could knock me for six. I don’t like being at home – I love being out and about, working, meeting friends, having a laugh, going to the gym. But for my own good I will follow the advice above – and be inspired by those who are even more vulnerable than I am. We can do this.

Stay safe, stay well.

Den.

Find out more about what we do and the vulnerable people we support by clicking here.

Last night, and quite rightly, the country came together to share their appreciation for the incredible work done by NHS staff members during the outbreak of Covid-19. We know how important care work is – especially in times like today.

At SSJ we have hundreds of members of staff working on the frontline, including those at St James Care, the Homeless Day Service, our Drug and Alcohol Recovery Services, and at our centres across Hampshire. We have always known that we have a fantastic team of support and care workers in Hampshire and we are incredibly proud to know that they are helping provide our service users with the very best in care and support during these times.

Each and every one of these key workers are heading to work each day to help care for and support the most vulnerable in society – from those who have spent years on the streets, to others who suffer from illnesses which means they could be greatly affected by Covid-19. Not once have they looked back – their focus has been entirely on protecting those who have already suffered so greatly in their lives.

When we were clapping for NHS staff members, we were also sending a round of applause to our staff members at SSJ – for the incredible work they do. Their hard work, selflessness, and determination to make sure our service users are looked after shows what a credit they are to our organisation.

We are sure you will want to send a message of thanks to them too.

The Society of St James is delighted to have been awarded funding from The National Lottery Community Fund for two projects in 2020 and we would like to thank the National Lottery and its players for their support.

With this funding, SSJ can continue to deliver the extremely successful Re-Fit project in Portsmouth, in partnership with Pompey in the Community. The project is for disadvantaged and vulnerable adults with multiple issues including homelessness, substance misuse, mental & physical health and offending. It provides daily diversionary leisure and sports activities alongside training, education and employment opportunities, all of which can significantly improve physical and mental health, self-esteem, confidence, social interaction, and motivation.

We are also grateful to Southern Co-op and Portsmouth City Council for their continued support of this project. Since opening in November 2016, the project has worked with over 800 Portsmouth residents.

We have also been awarded funding to pursue our partnership with Southampton and Winchester Visitors Group to provide housing for asylum seekers. As Southampton is part of the City of Sanctuary network it feels right that SSJ is doing their bit in Southampton to support this vulnerable group of people who without the support of this new partnership would be homeless with no recourse to public funds.

The National Lottery Community Fund is the largest funder of community activity in the UK. Since June 2004, it has made over 200,000 grants and awarded over £9 billion to projects that have benefited millions of people. It is passionate about funding great ideas that matter to communities and make a difference in people’s lives.

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During the most recent inspection by CQC – the independent regulator of health and social care in England, staff at our specialist care home were recognized for their outstanding commitment to providing a safe and encouraging place to live for those in their care.

The Southampton based home looks after 16 adults, the majority of whom are over the age of 50 and have a long-term alcohol dependency and/or mental health issues. Staff are on-site 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to ensure the dignity, privacy and independence of each resident is paramount.

For those people who chose to continue to drink, the managed, safe environment at the home meant they no longer drank to immediately life threatening levels.

People with complex needs received support to achieve goals, which in some cases were genuinely life changing and life saving.

You can read the full CQC report, here.

Stay up to date with life at St James Care by liking their Facebook page, here.

With this year’s theme of ‘success’, guests shared in some of the achievements and successes clients and staff have made over the last twelve months. As well as a keynote speech from our Chief Executive Trevor Pickup, a number of volunteers and service users were issued certificates of achievement by the Sheriff of Southampton.

A highlight of the afternoon came from our very own band, The Recovery All-Stars, who performed two songs – ‘What Can I Say’ and ‘Brick In The Wall’.

In partnership with SoCo Music Project, The Recovery All-Stars meet for weekly jamming sessions and is made up of adults dealing with alcohol and drug misuse. Whether the participants are keen musicians or have never picked up an instrument before at all – they use their love of music and performing to support their on-going recovery.

Music has helped me so much in my recovery and I now feel like I have something to get up for. – A participant.

If you would like to find out more about the programme, please visit the SoCo website, here.