Im full of praise for the drinkers centre,reason being there is a better atmosphere than the main, Vols are more prepared to take time out and really sit and talk to us guests, there is a green badge, who is also involved in drug dependancy help, he is really good,i,ve had more help here at the drinkers this year, than iv,e had in two years,im really happy here, shame it closes saturday,just wish it could run all year, im getting some help accommodation as well at the drinkers..
Snapshot interview with a homeless guest (posted by the phantom blogger)
Thursday, 28 December 2006
New thinking about homelessness please
Hi all. Spotted today (although a bit late): media release from Crisis posted 20 December 2006 and comments made by Duncan Shrubsole(Head of Policy) says,
"Many single homeless people are not included in the latest government figures."
But the issues not just about statistics. We need to be much more ambitious and redouble our efforts if we really want to end homelessness. We need to ensure that there's enough appropriate and affordable housing to encourage rent for single people and families.
It was noted in the Crisis Open Christmas 2005 guest survey that 15% of those sampled said they had a partner. It has become quite obvious to guests staying at the Drinkers' Shelter and volunteers that many here are not single but have a partner. So, in looking at ending homelessness, should not people who have partners be included in looking at the overall ending of homelessness? So, can I suggest a more comprehensive view is taken by policy and research people when looking into ending homelessness.
The new 2007 strategy will be about homeless prevention. How can you prevent something when you can't -- or have problems -- defining what the homeless population is?
Answers please to the homeless population living either on the streets or are hidden homeless. Why are we being excluded from your thoughts on this subject?
Posted by The Phantom Blogger.
"Many single homeless people are not included in the latest government figures."
But the issues not just about statistics. We need to be much more ambitious and redouble our efforts if we really want to end homelessness. We need to ensure that there's enough appropriate and affordable housing to encourage rent for single people and families.
It was noted in the Crisis Open Christmas 2005 guest survey that 15% of those sampled said they had a partner. It has become quite obvious to guests staying at the Drinkers' Shelter and volunteers that many here are not single but have a partner. So, in looking at ending homelessness, should not people who have partners be included in looking at the overall ending of homelessness? So, can I suggest a more comprehensive view is taken by policy and research people when looking into ending homelessness.
The new 2007 strategy will be about homeless prevention. How can you prevent something when you can't -- or have problems -- defining what the homeless population is?
Answers please to the homeless population living either on the streets or are hidden homeless. Why are we being excluded from your thoughts on this subject?
Posted by The Phantom Blogger.
Want to read Volunteers blogs 2006
hi, if you are looking for news about C.O.C this year from other
centres, there is a blog feed, you can use, Simply type: ask.com into
goggle, allow page to appear, then in scroll down bar,on right hand
side,find blogs and feeds,bring up page to screen, type into page
Crisis open christmas 2006,click find, and presto, all the
volunteers views will appear for you to read..
the phantom blogger
centres, there is a blog feed, you can use, Simply type: ask.com into
goggle, allow page to appear, then in scroll down bar,on right hand
side,find blogs and feeds,bring up page to screen, type into page
Crisis open christmas 2006,click find, and presto, all the
volunteers views will appear for you to read..
the phantom blogger
the new learning zone at Crisis
Spotted a poster on the wall,The Learning zone at Crisis.
free courses for homeless and ex-homeless people
can i suggest drop the term ex,
try and get a job, when you are called ex-homeless
it becomes a social stigma
the phantom blogger
free courses for homeless and ex-homeless people
can i suggest drop the term ex,
try and get a job, when you are called ex-homeless
it becomes a social stigma
the phantom blogger
Democratic Values found at Crisis
hi, all readers,
Thursday,dinner time at drinkers centre..
Well must admit i am well contented, and find myself needing to express my
thoughts through this medium,as i have become aware that lots of the vols
are reading the drinkers centre blog, when coming off shift,having a debrief
session, and some make their way, while others still like to mingle with the
guests,before they leave for a well deserved break,While i have been here
have been using some of services provided for guests, IT, well of course
i have using this,this is how i have communicated, mine and others experiances
plus have been able to get, and be given, what i would like to term a full body
M.O.T as when you are the homeless experiance,or a life of poverty, not all
guests here are homeless dont forget, it can become a drain, physically, or
mentally..on the bodys resourses, its quite a well known fact, that the average age
and life expectancy of someone living on the streets is 42 years old, and poverty
is another common factor, in a decrease in a persons life..
Im starting to make some headway, on getting myself somewhere to stay
when the shelters closes, on saturday morning, this help has been ongoing since
i arrived at the centre on the first day, and for many other guests as well, who
find themselves homeless, many through no fault of there own..
The services that have been on offer, not for getting the Drinkers centre is only
one of severn centres Crisis are running this year, are being monitored, by the guests
The,HOW? and by WHO? can be answered.. Bhug.. Brent Homeless users Group
This is a social enterprise group, set up in Brent in 2002 by homeless people ,and or people
have experianced homelessness, they are conducting a peer interviewing exercise
by interviewing 300 guests, around the 7 centres, as to what they thought
of the services on offer to guests,and how they performed, which will be collected
and analysided, so as ensure that only the best is on offer to guests, a offshoot
of this will be to keep in touch, if possiable with a few guests,after the centres have closed
to see what some of the long term outcomes for people have been, since engagement
process had started at Crisis Open Christmas..this i would to term "democratic values"
Looking back in time, we the homeless...
can now Vote.,
you don,t need a address to registar, use for example a daycentres address
you dont need a address to registar with a doctor..
use for example the doctors sugery address, or again a daycentres address
And we the homeless are trying our best, with the help given from the Homeless
Voluntary sector, in gaining access to IT, fine example i can give is CRISIS SKYLIGHT
in Commercial street.. its a centre for homeless and excluded people, in London
where there is a IT suite we can use..
Im starting to find i am having problems getting access to IT in libarys
they are starting to ask people, if you want to use the IT we need a address
and ID as well, by address they mean home address...this making access
more diffucult now, why is this, good job Crisis is on the ball.....
thoughts from a homeless guest
the phantom blogger..
Thursday,dinner time at drinkers centre..
Well must admit i am well contented, and find myself needing to express my
thoughts through this medium,as i have become aware that lots of the vols
are reading the drinkers centre blog, when coming off shift,having a debrief
session, and some make their way, while others still like to mingle with the
guests,before they leave for a well deserved break,While i have been here
have been using some of services provided for guests, IT, well of course
i have using this,this is how i have communicated, mine and others experiances
plus have been able to get, and be given, what i would like to term a full body
M.O.T as when you are the homeless experiance,or a life of poverty, not all
guests here are homeless dont forget, it can become a drain, physically, or
mentally..on the bodys resourses, its quite a well known fact, that the average age
and life expectancy of someone living on the streets is 42 years old, and poverty
is another common factor, in a decrease in a persons life..
Im starting to make some headway, on getting myself somewhere to stay
when the shelters closes, on saturday morning, this help has been ongoing since
i arrived at the centre on the first day, and for many other guests as well, who
find themselves homeless, many through no fault of there own..
The services that have been on offer, not for getting the Drinkers centre is only
one of severn centres Crisis are running this year, are being monitored, by the guests
The,HOW? and by WHO? can be answered.. Bhug.. Brent Homeless users Group
This is a social enterprise group, set up in Brent in 2002 by homeless people ,and or people
have experianced homelessness, they are conducting a peer interviewing exercise
by interviewing 300 guests, around the 7 centres, as to what they thought
of the services on offer to guests,and how they performed, which will be collected
and analysided, so as ensure that only the best is on offer to guests, a offshoot
of this will be to keep in touch, if possiable with a few guests,after the centres have closed
to see what some of the long term outcomes for people have been, since engagement
process had started at Crisis Open Christmas..this i would to term "democratic values"
Looking back in time, we the homeless...
can now Vote.,
you don,t need a address to registar, use for example a daycentres address
you dont need a address to registar with a doctor..
use for example the doctors sugery address, or again a daycentres address
And we the homeless are trying our best, with the help given from the Homeless
Voluntary sector, in gaining access to IT, fine example i can give is CRISIS SKYLIGHT
in Commercial street.. its a centre for homeless and excluded people, in London
where there is a IT suite we can use..
Im starting to find i am having problems getting access to IT in libarys
they are starting to ask people, if you want to use the IT we need a address
and ID as well, by address they mean home address...this making access
more diffucult now, why is this, good job Crisis is on the ball.....
thoughts from a homeless guest
the phantom blogger..
Wednesday, 27 December 2006
the work goes on
Well its 5am thursday, party over in day room,most guests have retired to get a few hours
sleep,a small band of die-hards remain, plus some guests slowly arising from their sleep..
a small group has formed, and are playing cards in the main dayroom,and around them
the volunteers are busy with brooms and pans, sweeping the floors, and getting things
prepared for the day, The I.T section which has 8 p.c stations, is half full already, reading
mails,playing cards, and one guest is reciving some I.T. training from a volunteer, and
dont forget this is all going on at 5 am thursday morning, good job we have a 24 hour
cafe, at our disposal, again being staffed by vols...
Kitchen staff already busy, preparing breakfast, its a wonder to
watch,which reminds me, we also have a cctv near to front enterance
which is manned 24 hours..
me im off to sleep for a couple of hours
catch ya later
the phantom blogger
sleep,a small band of die-hards remain, plus some guests slowly arising from their sleep..
a small group has formed, and are playing cards in the main dayroom,and around them
the volunteers are busy with brooms and pans, sweeping the floors, and getting things
prepared for the day, The I.T section which has 8 p.c stations, is half full already, reading
mails,playing cards, and one guest is reciving some I.T. training from a volunteer, and
dont forget this is all going on at 5 am thursday morning, good job we have a 24 hour
cafe, at our disposal, again being staffed by vols...
Kitchen staff already busy, preparing breakfast, its a wonder to
watch,which reminds me, we also have a cctv near to front enterance
which is manned 24 hours..
me im off to sleep for a couple of hours
catch ya later
the phantom blogger
Blog from Main 27th dec/ the phantom blogger
December 27, 2006
Crisis Open Christmas 2006: Days Four and Five
Ha! So three COC Green Badges read this blog (GB Stuart told me this morning that he'd read my Christmas Eve entry...). I note that a grand total of none of'em goes on to leave a comment... ;-)
I didn't write an entry yesterday because several of us went to the pub after the shift finished and after a couple of pints, all I wanted to do when I made it home was to go to bed.
I was in the dining room again yesterday, doing the same thing as the previous two days, but with half the volunteers! Numbers always fall off after Christmas Day, although I don't remember the drop being quite as much as this year.
Notwithstanding the lack of vols, breakfast and lunch were served on time and we managed to clean the place up before the afternoon shift came in to take over (I did leave one guest fast asleep on his chair for the new shift to look after - I figure if someone is tired enough to sleep despite two vacuum cleaners working busily around them, there is a high chance that they need the sleep and should be left where they are, so we did).
Today brought a whole new source of fun: I was on the Main Gate, which is the welcoming committee for any guests entering the centre.
During setup last Saturday, when we erected the perimeter fences, we used some of the fencing panels to create a 'gate' comprising a passageway of approximately three metres width. This passage is where female volunteers pat down guests to try to ensure that nobody brings booze or other unwanted items (mainly booze) onto the premises. Once frisked, guests are then given a wristband that allows them to access services and Crisis to aggregate data on where resource are consumed during the Open. Then they are directed to an information point inside the centre where they can find out about what is on offer.
Once again, the general volunteers I worked with were tremendous and succeeded in maintaining a light-hearted atmosphere, in which guests were, for the most part, happy for their clothes and bags to be checked. Occasionally someone would object to having their beer cans taken off them, so they sat outside the entrance to finish them off before going in. I'm pleased to report that they largely cleaned up after themselves, which made tidying very simple indeed (thanks Kevin).
At one point a couple of bobbies walked past on their beat. They showed general interest in how the centre was going and were impressed by the number of guests who are being catered for. They went on their way, waving to a group of soon-to-be guests who were tucking into a couple of bottles of White Ace. The laissez-faire attitude that the police show to the Open is one element of the latter's success: guests are generally VERY wary of authority and institutions, so would not welcome a heavy police presence.
Over the course of the day I gave out over a packet of cigarettes to guests (a smoke goes down nicely after White Ace...). Ciggies are extremely useful as an excuse to chat to guests or to deflate moments of tension or high spirits, so Crisis provides a sporadic supply of them to volunteers to give to guests. Personally, I have always found it most effective to stop and have a smoke with guests if I have time (yeah, yeah, smoking is bad for me, yeah, yeah... I'll give up again in the new year...). I'm not sure if I'm the only volunteer to cadge cigarettes from guests, but I've formed a loose bond with some guests who might otherwise be unsociable and, unlike some vols I see, I don't generally have the problem of being swamped by guests looking for a free fag (they reckon I'm as likely to ask them for one back).
Most of the day was free of incident and quite jolly, although one guest did have to be escorted off the premises when he became too lively (he'd come in for food, but was too late for lunch and was not best pleased). I worked as a barman in a nightclub for two years in my younger years and every night was far more 'lively'!
Five days down, three to go. I wonder what tomorrow holds...
Posted by dompannell at December 27, 2006 10:50 PM | TrackBack
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