Busy week!

Wyn Newman – User Involvement & Development Manager

Angela and I interviewed 9 people this week who want to become Step Up volunteers in the Day Centre. We will definitely be looking at ways to use everyone who applied in some way in the Day Centre. Over the next 2 weeks we will be holding training sessions and working out what people will be doing and who will be their staff coach.

The Kitchen team did their coaching training on Wednesday with Lance and I, and we also reviewed how the project has worked in the kitchen. As a result we will be increasing the number of days from 2 to 3 a week and volunteers will have 6 week placements not 4 week.

We have 3 new people lined up to do their hygiene training over the next 2 weeks. It is quite difficult keeping track of everything going on at the moment but as things settle down I am sure it will work well because of the enthusiasm of the people who are applying. Undoubtedly, we will learn lots of things as we progress.

We are beginning to get the paintings and drawings together for our exhibition on the 13th June. We are looking forward to showing off the talents of the people who use our art room. Finally a new person came into the art room on Wednesday morning and he showed us how to make origami tulips. By the end of the morning we had a very nice bunch! He was a very patient teacher, I hope he comes back.

Congratulations Bee!

Well done to top student Bee who’s the first person to complete the ECDL (European  Computer Driving Licence) IT qualification in Workspace and has just received her first certificate from the British Computer Society. Bee says she’s thoroughly enjoying  advancing her computer skills in Workspace and wants to carry on learning. So she’s now working on the advanced level qualification!

Enjoyable Interview Process

Angela Protain, Day Centre Manager

Who would have thought that the process of organising interviews could be so touching and rewarding. Not the conducting of an interview, not got to that stage yet, but the mere ringing up and arranging of interview times with our clients.

I am in the process of recruiting clients to our Step-Up Programme whereby clients apply to volunteer to help our Day Centre Team to introduce new clients to the building, and help workers generally with day to day tasks.

Within 1 day of the poster advertising the posts, 10 clients applied and more later.

Reading some of the comments on their application forms as to why they want to work with us was touching enough,

“I want to make new clients feel welcome”,

“I would enjoy helping others as I have been helped”,

“I felt so good when I was here for the first time and I would like to make other vulnerable people feel important”.

But then ringing the clients up, inviting them for an interview and hearing them say “Are you sure?” or “ Really? Thank you, thank you so much” or  after introducing myself hearing one young woman quietly asking “Are you ringing me about what I think you’re ringing me about?” Me responding, “Er, for an interview yes” and her then shouting “Woo Yay!” has been really humbling and……fun!

It’s made me think that we have to get this right, and I’m determined that all the clients involved will get something positive from the experience of being interviewed through to hopefully becoming Day Centre Assistants that will perhaps help them towards work in the future.  Woo Yay!

 

“Being Homeless Either Makes or Breaks You”

Bruce

I’m from South Africa and came to the UK about 5 years ago because I wanted to travel and I had an Uncle in Newcastle who I could stay with. I did this for a bit but it didn’t work out and I had to leave so I thought I’d see what London was like.

I’m actually a dance teacher and thought there might be a chance of me finding a job in London, but it was harder than I thought.

I was down to my last £20 and homeless. I wanted to get back on my feet so went to Strada, across Embankment Bridge, as I’d worked there before and thought they might offer me a job as I was familiar with the set up.

I got the job but they didn’t know I was sleeping rough. It was good to know I’d have money coming in, but difficult when people asked me where I lived or what I was doing outside of work because I had no home or friends.

After work I’d grab a cardboard box and find somewhere to sleep. Even though it was summer it’d get really cold at about 4.00am but I found some air vents to sleep by which kept me warm.

In the morning I’d come over to The Connection to get some breakfast, clean my clothes and have a shower and then I’d head off to work. I knew The Connection was there from when I first arrived in London as I had to go to the South African embassy, which is in Trafalgar Square.

I think being homeless either makes or breaks you. I remember sitting on my sleeping bag seeing couples, groups of friends and families walk past. It was painful because I was all alone. Working in Strada was fine but I wanted to build a future and not just be able to make ends meet. I’d done that before and it was how I ended up homeless.

Mark from Workspace was brilliant. I had no qualifications but had an interest in construction. He found a project called Building Lives which would give me qualifications in different trades like plumbing and decorating. I got an interview the following week and I was successful!

I threw myself into it and completed a series of different qualifications. It’s great, I enjoy it so much and have been made an Ambassador of Construction, which means I can go and talk to children in schools about why construction is important.

I’ve now been offered a paid apprenticeship and will be studying part time as I want qualifications in Plumbing. I’m also in housing through a rented deposit scheme. I didn’t think my life would change so much and I know there’s more to come. If The Connection wasn’t here I don’t know what I’d be doing, I’d probably be stuck in the same old rut.

 

Ken’s story

Ken Roberts

Ken worked as a civilian chef in the army for 5 and a half years but eventually had to leave the job due to his problems with alcohol. He was first contacted by our Outreach team while sleeping rough in 2008 and was eventually successfully placed in a hostel in 2009. He now lives in his own flat. 

From early on in his time working with us, Ken has been involved with Streetwise Opera, participating in workshops and performances. He regularly attends our art group and participates in our group exhibitions. He is very creative and has explored lots of different media.

When he first started using our building Ken was struggling to deal with his alcohol usage but he seemed to understand the importance of finding activities that would allow him to focus away from the negativity in his life, this he found with Streetwise Opera and in our art room.

In May 2010, Ken registered with Workspace to begin to start to think about his career. Ken joined our computer course and gained a Level 1 qualification in October 2011. When the first Step Up Kitchen Volunteering role was advertised, Ken was among the first to apply. He completed his induction training, flew through his Food Safety certificate, and completed a four week placement helping out in the kitchen on Tuesday mornings which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Ken is now available to help out in the kitchen from time to time but has also realised he is now a step closer to returning to full time employment. He is now looking for another voluntary placement with a different organisation in order to get used to working longer hours and build up his experience.

This post was written by Ken, who attends our art and digital groups.

“I was upset so went to Villiers Street to do some drawing. I always sit near the Starbucks because if it rains it means I have somewhere to shelter. It was a nice day and drawing always calms me down because it gives me a lot to think about and gives me peace of mind.

I was drawing a rock scene in pencil from memory and as I was drawing people came over and talked to me, asking me about my drawings and how long I’d been drawing for. Then 2 people came over to me and asked if they could take a look at my drawings. They asked if I was freelance or did them professionally and I said I was self taught.

They said they were starting a children’s book and wondered if I would be interested in being commissioned to do the illustration for it. They took some photos of my drawings and my telephone number and in less than 3 hours they called me back saying they wanted to do the drawings. I felt really proud of myself and I’ll be doing some pencil drawings of landscapes behind buildings. I can’t wait to get started!”

Step Up Training with the Day Centre Team

 

Julia Porter - HR Director 

Yesterday was the launch of the training which is aimed to help staff work as coaches with those clients who are enrolled in our client volunteer programme Step Up. I piggybacked onto the Day Centre team training as I wanted to see first hand what the programme would mean for staff development here. The Step Up plan for the Day Centre means that there will be a pool of clients Monday to Friday in the role of Day Centre Assistants for a maximum of 2 mornings a week per volunteer. They will induct new clients into the building and services.

Lance and Wyn have collaborated to put together a really good training session which got us all to think primarily about our communication skills, emphasising the necessity to actively listen to a client in a coaching role, and actively hold back from getting into a telling mode with them, but rather encourage them through our question technique to find their own solutions.     

What really excites me about this training, beyond the wonderful opportunity this gives clients, is the real possibility that by encouraging as many of The Connection to undertake this training we can help embed a coaching style of communication across the organisation when needed. At the time where we are about to launch a new 2012 – 2015 business strategy and reiterate what The Connection’s values are (there will be an all staff session in the coming months communicating this and giving you the opportunity for feedback), I am really optimistic that Step Up does something beyond helping clients – it gives us all here a great opportunity to develop our own personal and professional skills.

The Key to a Good Interview

Alessio Leoni – Employment Support Worker

PwC has been a supporter of The Connection for several years; their staff have helped in the kitchen and with our annual survey. They also provide employability workshops on Interview Techniques.

The last one was on Tuesday 13th March. This is quite a popular workshop and 13 clients signed up (although more wanted to join it but we were already oversubscribed!).
Unfortunately, on the day only 6 people were able to attend as the others had  commitments. Anyway 6 was the perfect number as 6 rooms had been booked for the day - thanks Lindsey!

This time I was joined by one of our new locums, Jane who helped me facilitate the workshop. The first task was making sure all the clients were present when we left the building…and that was not an easy task considering the size of The Connection. I found 2 in Workspace, one in the art room, 2 in the day centre and one stuck in traffic! But we managed to get there just in time!

Their building is quite amazing, located above Charing Cross Station. Over 3000 people work there. We were welcomed by the receptionists that offered coffee and tea. Although initially the clients looked a bit intimidated by the new environment the friendliness of the staff made them feel at ease quite quickly.

We went then into one of their board rooms, similar to the one of Sir Alan Sugar uses, although this time no one was going to be fired! Paolo (one of the PwC workers that has a long relationship with The Connection) welcomed our clients and offered lunch and drinks.
He then started the presentation with the dos and don’ts during an interview. Paolo and another PwC volunteer had developed a role play to highlight a very bad interview!
Well what can I say; they may have a career in acting if anything goes wrong!
Clients interacted pointing out what was wrong and what people should actually do during a good interview.

After a final recap they were paired up with other PwC volunteers for the two mock interviews! Each client had the chance to get feedback at the end so they knew what they should change in the next interview with the other volunteers.

At the end of this long afternoon I asked for feedback from both the volunteers and clients and they were all extremely positive. Clients not only had a better understanding of an interview process, but they also had the chance to get feedback on their CVs.

The volunteers were impressed as well by our clients, their commitment and their hard work to look for jobs. We will have a new workshop in May for all those clients that may have been selected to work for the Olympics!

Diploma Delirium

Mark Kendall – Employment Support Worker

On Friday (9^th March), I had my assessment visit for the Diploma I am taking in Careers Advice.  So far I had managed to cower, unqualified, just beneath the radar but then the new diploma became a mandatory qualification for national careers service advisers and my dastardly plan was foiled!

My assessor wanted to observe me conducting guidance interviews with at least 2 clients and I was terrified!  I prepared obsessively; going over and over the logistics in my mind and frenziedly printing all the performance-related evidence I could possibly think of, kind of like Linus with a performance-related comfort blanket!

Thankfully, I needn’t have worried.  The clients all turned up on time and were a pleasure to interview.  My assessor was really supportive and seemed genuinely impressed by the whole set-up here.  She commented that the work we do in Workspace goes way beyond careers advice: exploring all manner of related support needs; from housing to health and addictions, and ensuring that appropriate links are in place with associated services.  She also couldn’t believe all the amenities that are available under this one roof.

In fact, my assessment was a great experience and afterwards I felt like a huge weight had been lifted, in the form of my self-doubt that my work must be inferior to that of my colleagues’, as I was the unqualified one.  It hadn’t even dawned on me previously that I was carrying this huge chip on my shoulder!

My assessor’s generous enthusiasm renewed my conviction that I had done the right thing in coming to work here, three and a half years ago, and it reminded me of how impressed I had been on my first day, when given a tour of the building for the first time and an induction into the functions of the various teams.

Nowadays I take it for granted that all the teams co-ordinate their efforts, so that a client will receive consistent advice and can be moved into a situation with their housing and employment that they can then sustain both financially and emotionally. 

However, people who visit the centre for the first time generally are impressed.  For that matter, I am still impressed… 

I’m impressed with my colleagues who do things that I know I couldn’t do.  For instance:  the mental health workers who spend all day every day working with people with sometimes quite substantial mental health needs, and; the outreach workers who do their work outdoors, on the streets and in all weathers, at unsociable times, over weekends and bank holidays alike.  There they will encounter clients with the most urgent needs and those that are the most vulnerable, alongside those that are deemed unsafe for the building, together with the (occasionally hostile) street drinkers, not to mention the great public at large and in all stages of revelry!

No, by the end of Friday I was frazzled but, if I did what some of my colleagues do, I would end every working day like that.  Phew!

Our Grand Day Out!

Chris Andrew – Project Worker

My name is Chris and I work as a project worker at The Connection.  Over last year the youth group I facilitate came up with the idea of an A-Z of Homelessness, a collection of cartoons, short films, animation and digital photography, each aimed at other young people to raise awareness of the issues faced if you become homeless. 

A month ago I received an invite to the Homeless Link reception and a request to screen some of the films from the A-Z at the event.  This is an annual event held by the lobbying organisation to help ensure homeless issues remain high on the agenda.  The invite was for me and one young homeless client to attend the reception at… THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT! I could not quite believe it and quickly rushed to facebook my friends with a status update stating “I knew I’d make it to the top one day!” and that “I intend to show off about this FOREVER”.  When I finally calmed down I realised I had a couple of important things to do.  Firstly to choose which of the young people should accompany me and secondly figure out what to wear! 

The following week during our session I spoke to the young people of the exciting news.  It was agreed that the choice should come down to a) someone who had demonstrated real change and positive engagement and b) someone who was happy and comfortable to talk to people about the project.  It was Paul who fitted the bill.  He also had a keen interest in politics and was very enthusiastic about meeting some MP’S.  The group graciously agreed that he was the best choice. 

So the day finally arrived.  I managed to find a blazer and a smart-ish pair of trousers that at least weren’t my usual jeans and hoodie, and Paul arrived donned in a very smart suit and tie.  On the way Paul had mentioned that he had visited Parliament before and I imagined he may have been on a guided tour once in his past but thought little more of it.  When we got there I was intrigued to find that Paul was well known amongst the security staff and police that manned the gates.  There was a great deal of banter; “Back again are we?”,  “Hey you’re going to be an MP before too long aren’t you”,  “Alright Paul, looking very smart then”.  Paul’s fascination with Parliament had led to him visiting several times and getting to know everyone quite well.  After a quick cup of tea we realised we were still very early.  Paul offered to show me round and before long we were hiking up the stairs to the public gallery of the House of Commons.  I had never seen Paul quite so at home as he seemed to be wandering those halls.  Opening doors for people, casually chatting with security staff and politely guiding me through the security procedures, Paul was relaxed whilst at the same time seemingly loving the formality of the environment we were in.  I, however, was a bit of a bumbling wreck, a total fish out of water… in a sweaty blazer. 

We sat in the Public Gallery for a couple of minutes then had a look at the ‘Strangers Gallery’ in the House of Lords.  It was a fascinating experience watching “the powers that be” sitting (or indeed snoozing) together, making decisions about our country.  I wondered why on earth I hadn’t visited before in all the 15 yrs I had lived in London.

It was time for the reception.  Just before going in Paul said he needed a cigarette. He arrived back in a very different state.  He held out a bit of a shaky hand and simply said “I’m nervous”.  I reassured Paul telling him he needn’t be nervous, that the room would be full of homeless sector professionals and would be very interested in what he had to say.  Once inside we were asked to have our photos taken with a self-written statement about what we were doing to help end rough sleeping.  Paul was back to his old self, very happy to undertake the task and again showing a great level of confidence when talking to others.  The photos were uploaded to a large live screen that played throughout the afternoon.  It was a simple but really effective idea and Paul’s enthusiasm inspired me to think it was one that could be adopted for our day centre to encourage client engagement with technology.

We met several people from other organisations and were very happy to tuck into a great afternoon tea that was laid on.  There were talks from MPs including Grant Shapps, Minister for Housing, and some inspiring life stories from former clients including Tommy Allman who now works for The Basement project as an outreach worker in Liverpool.  Our films played on a loop with other media presentations from different projects that everyone could view at their leisure.  We gave out postcards featuring digital designs created by the youth group, with details of all our projects on the back.  Paul even managed personally present one to Grant Shapps himself.  Lets hope he checks out our website and is inspired to do more to prevent homelessness as well as the current focus on dealing with current rough sleepers.

It was a great afternoon, but I have to say I was happy to get back into the jeans and hoody and return the next day to a workplace where I feel I bit more at home!