“When I think of haven, I think of a place where you feel protected. It divides you from the outside world, especially at difficult times or when you’ve had a challenging day. It’s that place where you go that has a structure but it’s also a state of mind where you feel peace and security.
The thought of losing my haven gives me a physical feeling of anxiety and stress. And it’s not so much about the house as a structure, but rather that safe, protective space it offers.
I manage the regional homeless services for the local authorities in the South East. There’s a lot of administrative and financial aspects to the role, but I especially like the social aspects of it.
Working collaboratively with a whole host of service providers in the region is the most important element of the job. We all have our own remits. We’re all dealing with crisis, we’re all firefighting. We all have limited resources, but if we don’t work together to come up with solutions, then everything fails.
Quite often we’re working to support people who are so bogged down by the circumstances in their lives, that, understandably, they no longer find it easy to see a positive future.
They’re dealing with real traumatic and historical backgrounds. Some are caught up in a cycle of poor mental health and substance misuse.
We all work together to try and get people to the point where they see some light at the end of the tunnel. We might get frustrated with each other. We get annoyed. We argue. But that’s all good because it shows the passion everyone has for a solution and a positive outcome for the service user.
And that’s often striving towards getting people housed and, what can sometimes be most challenging, getting the supports they need to remain housed.
It’s rewarding when you see people just develop before your eyes. We might first meet them in emergency accommodation when they’re at their wits’ end. But when we find a solution for them where they’re housed, they have the supports they need, they’re keeping their tenancy. It’s working. That’s success.
We don’t give up on people. Simon doesn’t give up on people. I’ve worked with the South East Simon team since I came into this role, and I see the challenges they face every day. They go above and beyond, and I hope we’re supporting them as best we can in what can be very emotional work.
I worry most about the long-term emotional impact this homeless crisis will have on people who are homeless. The challenges they’re facing can leave lasting scars. However, I'm confident that by working collaboratively with Simon and all the other service providers in the region, we can help people rebuild their lives. And we do.
Helping people rise above their situations to find their safe havens is what makes the job so rewarding.”