Our news
The Society of St James Academy
SSJ will be launching the new Academy in 2024 to provide a full timetable of meaningful activity including sports, crafts, learning and employment pathways for individuals that we support who have a history of homelessness and other support needs. In the meantime, our new Re-Set…
Royal Visit to Southampton Charity
Royal Visit to Southampton Charity HRH The Princess Royal was in Southampton on Friday to officially open a care home of the Society of St James. HRH met staff, residents and Board members and heard about the work of the charity. She also cut a…
Cuts for the Homeless
“It was a gift for sure” said Simon who is homeless and supported by the Rough Sleeping Support Service (RSSS) in Portsmouth. Simon was talking about his appreciation for the free January haircut he and other residents of an RSSS hostel received. Shannon Droxford and…
Christmas Meal Appeal 2022
We’ve been supporting people affected by homelessness for 50 years – and every year we raise money to provide a hot meal or gift to people in our services at a time when they can feel alone. You, our supporters, made a huge difference for…
Live: Celebrating the successes of service users
This week (3rd) we are celebrating the achievements of our super service users, as part of a series of events to commemorate our 5th anniversary. You can follow the live updates below 6th October (Southampton) 4th October (Portsmouth)
Featured job: Accommodation Based Support Worker
This week we are profiling another job with SSJ – our accommodation based support worker. SSJ is a great place to start or continue your career. Our charity has been supporting people affected by homelessness for 50-years – and you’ll have the chance to make…
The Cost of Living Crisis
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…
Recruitment: Administrator: St James Care
Our job in focus for this week is for an administrator for St James Care. You will be responsible for providing administrative support to the leadership teams across St James Care (Radstock Rd and Linden House) including the management of the Covid testing regime. You will…
Heatwave: Can you help?
Our projects are in urgent need of the following items; 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…
Guest blog: Talking about period poverty
Period Poverty: a modern day crisis This week we have a guest blog from Louanne of the Southampton Homeless Period Project. The cost of living crisis is increasingly impacting women’s ability to purchase sanitary products, and Louanne has first hand experience in supporting women in…
New Jobs: Accommodation based support service
Are you looking for a new role that is both challenging and rewarding? We are looking for 4 members of staff to work for our new ABS service in Southampton. The Accommodation Based Support Service (ABS) is a new service providing a range of housing…
SSJ awarded Portsmouth contract to continue providing substance misuse services
SSJ awarded Portsmouth substance misuse contract 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…
From our staff: a blog from Sean Smith
We’re going to be running a new feature where we talk to our members of staff about their work at SSJ and why they love working here. We have hundreds of members of staff from unique and interesting backgrounds, some have been with us for…
Rodney – the cartoonist who created the Queen
We are so proud of the residents at our care homes. People from different backgrounds, with unique skills and all with great character and stories. We love telling you about those at St James Care who have something unique, a talent, a dream, or even…
2022 – the year so far
It’s been an exciting year for SSJ, we have had a lot happening behind the scenes – and we will have some news on what has been happening since the beginning of 2022 soon. This year has been an exciting year for us though, not…
Volunteers Week – help support us
Voluntary Roles in profile: Volunteers Week Working as a volunteer for SSJ gives you the chance to support people who have had a life affected by homelessness. There are hundreds of people less fortunate than us, who haven’t had the same opportunities in life and…
Modular Home a success for SSJ (Video exclusive)
For our service users, happiness is their own home – and recently that dream came true; having a place to call home, when a resident moved into a brand-new self-contained modular home with a unique background. With support from Balfour Beatty, who designed and constructed…
We’re looking for community groups who want to support us in 2022.
Are you part of a community group which is looking to support a local charity this year and next? We are looking to build relationships with community groups that want to support is and help raise money that will purchase much needed essentials for people…
Looking Back: 2007
Looking Back: 2007 – our 35th Year 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….
50th Celebration Challenge – Show us what you’ve got
50th Challenge Without you we wouldn’t be half the organisation we are. From the support we receive in donations each month – to the overwhelming good feeling we receive from each and every person we encounter – we are truly grateful for what we see…
Fundraising in 2022 – Our Golden Year
Our 50th anniversary year is nearly over and we are now facing a challenging few years ahead, helping our local communities in Hampshire to navigate the cost of living crisis. Our homelessness and substance misuse services are even more in demand of late and our…
What does Christmas mean to people affected by homelessness?
What is Christmas to those without a home? What does Christmas mean to people who are affected by homelessness? Do they notice the bright lights, do they watch people walk by – Christmas shopping in the cold evenings? Do they wonder what might happen if…
Jason “SSJ made my Christmas”
This blog was written in 2020, but has been republished to celebrate 50 years of SSJ and to represent what the future looks like for our service users. Jason was homeless at Christmas Jason said; “Last Christmas (2020) I was living in my friends van, drinking…
Welcome to our Christmas Appeal 2021
Today we launch our Christmas Appeal to provide a gift or a hot meal to somebody affected by homelessness 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…
Supporting us this winter
Summer seems to have come and gone without much celebration – and for us that means we are focusing on one of the most important parts of the year. Autumn, Winter and Christmas is an important time for us at SSJ – as we start…
Technologywithin’s bike challenge raises money for SSJ
On Friday 17th September technologywithin, the UK’s leading provider of technology for flexible workspaces and multi tenanted offices spaces, held its first Gran Fondo cycling event to raise money for the Society of St James.
Case Study: Dom – the success of our care homes
Linden House – St James Care Our care homes are an integral part of our support services; working with people with alcohol dependency as well as complex mental health needs, we provide both long-term care and specialist, intensive respite. Dom was one of our residents. He was at Linden House for a short period…
Fundraising: Winter is Coming
Fundraising in the winter? We dare you! 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…
Green Fingers means Positive Space for Service Users
We are delighted to be working with Brodie, owner of Green Fingers Gardening Specialists, and his team who have helped us landscape our gardens to provide a place for service users to relax and unwind. Having social areas where our service users can de-stress, relax…
Case Study: Jodie’s Story
Jodie has been talking with Anni Bury, SSJ Recovery Worker, about alcohol dependency, pregnancy and rebuilding her family as part of our ’50 stories’ series. “I drank heavily when my mum passed away. She had a bleed on her brain and she passed away in…