Try Again; Yet Again

Another film from Simon on the Streets

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Pixie’s Story of Life on the Streets of Leeds

If you would like to help Simon on the Streets support homeless people in Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield please check this link to make a donation or here if you would be interested in volunteering

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U-Turn Tom

For Tom to be able to eventually go to residential Rehab there were some strict conditions; He must show willing by attending structured day care at least 3 times a week, attend all testing appointments with DRR (a court order) and hopefully get negative urine tests, and to attend Probation monthly.

Tom took the Bull by the horns and has been attending structured day care regularly. He has attended all probation and DRR appointments and has also been giving regular drug free urine samples.

I meet up with Tom regularly and his whole attitude has done a 180 degree turn. He has been up to the rehab with his DRR worker and thought it looked fantastic. He has another appointment in a couple of weeks to make his own way to the rehab to spend the day there and Tom’s revelling in the prospective challenge.

Every time I meet up with Tom he’s beaming from ear-to-ear and the support offered is more around psychosocial and cognitive behaviour. We mainly sit down and talk about life and the potential if not definite positive changes that have and are still happening with Tom.

We as an organisation are only too aware of the potential for relapse and have made sure that a structured safety net is in place so that we can pick up Tom if and when necessary.

Jamie

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Positive Movement

I’ve worked with Terry for about 2 years now and for most of that time he’s been an entrenched rough sleeper. Terry was in care from an early age and soon resorted to crime – namely car theft and joy riding – to fill his time and stunt his boredom. The outcome of this was a trip to the local Young Offenders Institution where he started experimenting with drugs! After a few years of smoking weed and doing recreational drugs Terry’s mental health suffered and he tried to commit suicide by jumping off a railway bridge. He was hurt, but not dead and was then sectioned by the local authority and diagnosed as schizophrenic.

When Terry was discharged from the psychiatric ward he went into supported housing in Bradford, it was here he started using heroin. He turned up in Leeds and was brought to the attention of our organisation; this was about 4 years ago. Throughout this time Terry had been in and out of hostels, but mainly rough sleeping due to his drug addiction. We, as an organisation, never gave up on Terry. He was often incredibly difficult to engage with and refused to have anything to do with specialist support services. But we persevered and knew that if we maintained contact with him there was always an opportunity for positive change even if in the short term that was simply buying him a sandwich or just a chat. Consequently through long term planning and getting Terry to recognise the need for small steps towards his desired outcomes we managed to secure drug treatment for him which he’s doing fine with and is stable. He’s also just signed for his own tenancy with the local authority and we’re working with Terry to get him moved in and settled.

Jamie, Support Worker

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Supporting the Unsupported

One of our service users has just been evicted from the hostel he was staying in. The main reason for this is that he is too ‘high risk’. This is because of his many suicide attempts – deliberate or accidental he’s not really sure himself. This man is problematic; his alcohol use means he is quite disruptive and abusive which can have very negative effects on other residents of the hostel.

Last night he took a large amount of alcohol and an ambulance had to be called. His behaviour also meant that the police had to be called to get him in the ambulance. He also had a psychiatric assessment the result of which was that he has no mental health issues; the assessor puts his unusual and problematic behaviour down to his alcohol use (he has had many of these assessments but each is carried out in isolation never referring to information gathered in earlier assessments or taking account of volume of assessments that have been conducted). The trouble is that even if the alcohol is causing his issues of mental functioning he still has them. The major challenge is that he is receiving no formal support with these issues.

His Simon worker is with him now and they are trying to secure some emergency accommodation. If he manages to get some it might well be in a bed & breakfast. Is it right that this man who clearly has some massive support needs that could well be a danger to himself and potentially others is to be put in a completely unsupported environment?

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Support Work Example

It’s a really good feeling when somebody who struggles to engage with services takes it upon themselves to go get the support that can be so beneficial.  For about two years I have worked with a guy who has bipolar (manic depression) which means he can be very high spirited and energetic and funny, and will then drop to being severely depressed and suicidal.  He has a very low self esteem and I think this has a lot to do with why he finds it hard to take care of himself.  Things that seem simple to others like going to a GP when ill, or making sure you eat at least 2 meals a day, he finds really hard.  This guy has had lots of health problems since I’ve known him and he is registered with a doctor and will make himself an appointment but just not get there due to the above reasons and the chaotic nature of his lifestyle. 

 

A few months ago I was getting increasingly worried about his health as he seemed to deteriorate rapidly; he was losing a lot of weight and strength.  I know from experience that he’s not somebody you can have instant action with, he’s not going to go to his GP just because I suggest it and because he’s feeling ill.  It’s often easier for him to stay at home and try no to think about it.  I try to support him to access healthcare in a more subtle way.  For example, by doing motivational work with him so looking at positive things in his life e.g. how well he’s done in the past, the good relationship he has with his girlfriend.  I aim to help build his self-esteem in the hope this will help him to care more about himself and so look after himself better physically.  I also keep an eye on his health so asking him each time I have contact with him how well he thinks his health is doing and what his thoughts or plans may be around taking care of himself. 

I believe this work came to fruition one day when I found out he was in court so went down to try and find him.  He was looking very ill.  We had a chat about his health and he said “I think I need to go to hospital” and I told him I was free if he wanted me to go with him.  He asked if we could get a bite to eat first to we popped to a local shop and then went.  I believe my perseverance paid off.  By keeping up contact I could monitor his health and show him that we care.  I think it’s about getting the right balance between showing people that you care so you want them to access healthcare but also listening to them and hearing what they want and what they think and finding a middle ground.   With this situation it was important to maintain contact, even though this service user would not take action for a long time, it kept him thinking about his health every time he saw me so that when he was ready to make a move forward I was there to support him.

 

Jen – Support Worker

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Fiona’s First Days

My work background is pretty varied.  I first studied IT at university but dropped out to look after my husband, Chris, when he got ill.  I eventually graduated with a 2:1 in Archaeology and Prehistory from Sheffield University and spent some time on digs in this country and a few months in Greece.  After that I kind of fell into IT work and became an IT Security Analyst for a multi-national pharmaceutical company.  I stayed with IT work, mainly for the money, although I was getting very disillusioned with working for such large corporate organisations and was beginning to lack motivation.  I decided it was a time for a change so started volunteering at a local advice centre because, as clichéd as this might sound, I wanted to feel good about the work I was doing.

I had been volunteering for about 7 months when I applied for the job at Leeds Simon Community.  When I saw the advert I had a look on the website to make sure it was the sort of organisation I wanted to work for and the more I read the more I agreed with the whole ethos of the organisation.  Part of the interview process involved going out on outreach with 2 workers, Jen and Jamie, to see what it was all about.  What struck me straight away was that all the people we spoke to on the streets were really pleased to see us, everyone spoke about Leeds Simon Community in a very positive way and while we were out I got to see Jen and Jamie doing some work with the people we met on the streets.  Some of it was practical work, arranging to take someone to the housing office, and some it was emotional support, spending 10 minutes with someone who had just been discharged from hospital and was feeling pretty low.  Because the service users are on the streets, if you go out and see them on the streets they are much more likely to engage with you than if you ask them to keep appointments.  Being in a set place at a set time can be quite difficult when you take into consideration the chaotic lifestyle that a lot of our service users live.

I’ve been doing the job so far for 7 weeks and it’s been pretty full on, I’m learning a lot from Clive, Jen and Jamie, and also from the service users.  It’s tough when you see the conditions that people have to endure every day, being on the streets clearly brings with it a lot of associated problems.  I’ve accompanied service users to doctor or hospital appointments where they’ve been told that they are at a massive risk of overdose or that they are going to die within 6 months if they don’t cut down the amount of substances they use.  That’s difficult to hear but what I find harder is that quite often the service user’s say they don’t care, they are so low in mood, motivation and self esteem that they seem ready to give up. This is sad but it’s also extremely frustrating when you can see so much potential in people.

Sometimes service users just want to chat about their problems and what’s going on for them and, even though they don’t expect us to offer a solution, it helps to be able to talk.  Quite often service users have little or no positive emotional support in their lives so if you can take time to sit down and have a cup of tea and a chat then it gives them that outlet for their problems and shows them that somebody cares about what’s going on in their lives. This also helps build up the relationship which means the individual may be more willing to engage in a discussion about more difficult issues such as drug and alcohol use, housing and relationships problems.

So far I’ve found the job to be pretty much what I expected, I’m enjoying the challenges and although the job can be emotionally tiring, frustrating and at times quite hard going, it’s also extremely rewarding, challenging and very varied. Looking forward, I hope to keep developing my skills as a support worker at Leeds Simon Community and helping to raise awareness of the issues surrounding homelessness.

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Rough Sleeping, Street Homelessness and Homelessness

Rough-Sleeping

People sleeping rough or bedded down in the open air (such as streets, in doorways, parks or bus shelters) people in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations or bashes). The definition does not include people in hostels or shelters or other sites used for recreational purposes.

Street Homelessness

Ninety per cent of counted rough-sleepers are white males, who tend to sleep most visibly. Street homelessness is more inclusive. It includes vulnerable people who may have somewhere basic to sleep at night, but who can be on the streets during the day. It includes people therefore who stay in derelict buildings and squats. It includes people sleeping outside of city centres and those who stay in hostels. It also includes street based sex workers who are vulnerable and homeless, but not visibly sleeping on the street. Street homelessness includes higher numbers of homeless people from BME groups and women.

Homelessness

Homelessness is defined in a number of ways. You are homeless if: You live with no kind of shelter, for example, on the streets. You have shelter, but nowhere to call home. You are living on a friend’s or relative’s floor.  Or you are living in a hostel.

The definitions around homelessness are quite complicated. It means that a person could be homeless their whole life without ever having slept rough. And also a person who is not technically homeless, who has their own tenancy for example, could be a rough-sleeper. This could fit some of the people we know who sleep rough occasionally with friends who are long term rough sleepers but have their own tenancy.

So why do we as an organisation focus on rough sleepers? Our ethos is about supporting the most vulnerable people who can’t or won’t access other services. Rough-sleeping for any substantial period of time is potentially very harmful and therefore in itself will make individuals vulnerable. Rough-sleeping is also usually a good indicator that people are not accessing other services and that they have high support need

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Catherine’s Story – why we do what we do…

Catherine is a part time volunteer with Simon on the Streets.  She takes part in the weekly soup run and also gets involved in some street outreach work.  As a student who had moved to Leeds she first got involved with Simon because she had some spare time that she really wanted to put to good use.  Her initial contact revealed that the Community is not an organisation that views people who are homeless as passive beings in an active world who need to have things done for them.  The fact that Simon want to support people to do things for themselves is precisely what drew Catherine to us.

So why does she do it?  To begin with it was simply the idea of wanting to support improvements in the lives of people with many complex needs.  As time went on, although this would always be at the heart of why she volunteers, Catherine realised there were many different reasons to continue.  “I enjoy the challenge of engaging with a client group that can be very difficult to work with” – this can range from trying to get a very quiet and depressed man who refuses to engage with anyone to simply share a few words in conversation as a very gentle beginning to an engagement process, to seeing behind the loud aggressive shouting and swearing of a very angry woman and getting to the root of the behaviour.

“It is also hugely satisfying to work in an organisation that is well respected; and not just by other agencies but also by the people who really matter – our service users!  We strive to ensure that the person is put before the ‘piece of work’.  Service users understand we see them and then their issues and not a set of problems that needs to be solved.  Our method always allows the person to drive the work and decide on what is to be done, our role is to offer support in this”.

Part of Catherine’s interest in volunteering was to see if it was a field of work that she wanted to get into.  Her time with the Community has helped her decide that it is.  One of the reasons for this is, “the people we support are such fantastic individuals with great stories to tell who are often, once you get to know them, very good company.”

Catherine has now made the move forward and is soon to start working full time in a related field.  “if you’re interested in this type of work as a career it’s great.  All the time you’re volunteering you are gaining the training, knowledge, skills and experience that you need!”

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Changing My Life…

The first time I got involved with Leeds Simon on the Streets Community as a volunteer it transformed my life.

Let me try and tell you why.

Nothing can prepare you for your first experience with the Simon on the Streets.  Mine being the moment when we turned the corner in the Soup Van to see 40-50 people waiting with hunger and anticipation.  I was immediately given the job of handing out the blankets and although closely watched by my new colleagues I was left to settle in on my own with my new job. 

As I watched around me, I noticed two things; firstly the practical needs were being met; food, blankets, the finest tea in Leeds. Additionally, I saw emotional support being provided by a formidable group of people. These people, from all different backgrounds and experiences were giving up the most precious thing they had. Their time. They offered a listening ear and a helping hand to those people who, for whatever reason were not receiving it from the recognised support agencies

As my own experience developed, I realised how special these people are and how good it felt being part of their team.  As well as providing support to the most vulnerable people in our great city, the friendships and support that exists within the Community creates an environment of understanding, commitment, loyalty and trust.  The bond that is created between the workers is something I have not experienced before.  Not only is there an abundance of fun, banter and humour, there is an atmosphere that takes you away from life’s challenges and gives you a sense of purpose and belonging surrounded by caring and thoughtfulness.

Everybody is there to listen, not to pry or judge, just to be there when you need to share.

Now in my third year as a volunteer, I find myself sharing with others the joy of being a volunteer with Leeds Simon on the Streets. People can hear how excited and passionate I am about our organisation. However, the way to truly appreciate it is to be part of the amazing team and have your own “first moment”. From that point on, you will be amongst a unique group of people. It might also transform your life!

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