Two London stations have extended their partnership with homelessness charity.
Charing Cross and Victoria stations have been working for the past year with Shelter to help people who are forced to sleep rough on mainline stations.
Now they have extended the partnership until the end of March next year and will continue to work alongside two local charities – The Passage at London Victoria and The Connection at St Martin's at London Charing Cross. The outreach project forms part of a five-year Routes Out of Homelessness project set up by Network Rail.
Working alongside Shelter colleagues, Network Rail station staff connect with people they find sleeping rough and refer them to experts who can provide help and support.
Working with an allocated key worker, each homeless person is offered assistance not only to find accommodation but also vital services such as mental health support, registering with a GP and setting up a bank account. Over the last year, this approach has helped 73 people and, in the next year, the aim is to help even more.
World Homelessness Day takes place this year on 10 October. Shelter will be running retail pop-up shops at Network Rail stations where the public can purchase a range of clothes from Shelter boutiques or make donations to the charity. These will appear at London Waterloo on 3, 4 and 5 October, London Bridge on 10, 11 and 12 October and London Victoria on 17, 18 and 19 October.
Kathleen O'Malley, Network Rail's Social Value Manager, said: “The extension of this partnership with Shelter is fantastic news. It's amazing to see the work that our station colleagues have been getting involved with and the real difference it makes to people's lives.
“We're really pleased to be continuing to work collaboratively with Shelter, The Passage, and Connection at St Martin's to extend the outreach service and make sure that we can help as many people as possible who may be sleeping rough in and around stations.
“It's really important that we continue empowering our frontline colleagues to have conversations with and signpost people sleeping rough to support their route out of homelessness.”
Steve Matthews, Head of National Contracts at Shelter, added: “The pilots in London show us what we can do when we all come together. The extension of the partnership is great news and we're so pleased to be able to continue this work with partners in the sector, to make sure no-one faces homelessness alone.”
Alanah Cornelius, Engagement and Outreach Manager at The Passage, said: “Through this partnership, our Community Intervention Team has been able to reach and support more individuals who are experiencing homelessness and are met in and around Victoria station.
“We're extremely pleased that this collaborative work can continue, ensuring that support is offered to all those in need. Ultimately, this collaboration will help us to work towards our vision of a society where everyone has a place to call home.”
Pam Orchard, Chief Executive of The Connection at St Martin's, commented: “Our outreach team works tirelessly to support hundreds of people sleeping rough each year. We're really pleased to continue working with Network Rail and Shelter to increase the number of people we're able to reach.”
Helping those in most need – John's story
Earlier this year, The Passage Community Intervention Team (CIT) met John (not his real name) who was sleeping rough on the London Victoria Station concourse.
John, said: “I'd lost both my job and accommodation a week before and was now experiencing street homelessness in the area. I'd travelled to London Victoria to find work and was rough sleeping near the station, whilst looking for secure employment. I was very distressed and was using the station's facilities and indoor seating space to shield me from the cold and wet weather when the community intervention team met me.
“I was walked to the Passage Resource Centre on the same day, where I was assessed by the team and given access to primary services, including showers, a hot meal and an appointment with the GP. I had been sleeping rough since I'd lost my accommodation and very much welcomed the support which was provided.
“The Passage saved my life, and I would like to thank members of the team from the partnership and The Passage's Community Services.”
The support that John received through this partnership helped him move away from sleeping rough. John is now working in retail and enjoying his new job and has maintained his place in the accommodation the partnership helped him secure.
