At the end of February Kelly Vickers, a mortgage consultant with Nationwide, joined R2R to help at an Afternoon Drop-In. Kelly brought a friend with her, Alice Neal who is a Bournemouth University student. Both ladies were quickly on board with preparing the sandwiches, toast and baked beans, and serving the guys as they came in for lunch. They both thoroughly enjoyed the experience and have decided to put their names forward for our permanent list of volunteers.
The Nationwide Citizenship Committee at the Bournemouth admininstration centre selected Routes to Roots as a charity to support in Autumn 2012. They have given £630 in direct donations to assist with our winter appeal and with drop-in food budgets. They also publicised volunteering opportunities to their staff. The building society nationally runs a scheme to encourage volunteering whereby staff are given two days paid leave a year specifically to volunteer.
Alice Neal (BU) on the left and Kelly Vickers (Nationwide) on the right
In December Dorset County Council sent us a cheque for £3000 for our winter warmth appeal from their funding for people in need during bad weather.
Since 13 January temperatures in Poole have dropped to 0° or below on many occasions. As a result the Poole Outreach and Support Team (POST – Routes to Roots in partnership with Bournemouth Churches Housing Association) has triggered its Severe Weather Emergency Provision (SWEP). SWEP provides rough sleepers with a hot meal, overnight accommodation and breakfast in a Poole church hall.
When temperatures rise the accommodation closes but POST continues to monitor the situation and will re-open as necessary. The POST team engages with all known rough sleepers within the Borough of Poole on a daily basis and encourages them to move away from rough
sleeping and into safe accommodation.
Anyone who has concerns about someone who is either rough sleeping or at risk of rough sleeping can contact Poole Outreach Support Team
(POST) on:
07966 808802 / 07985 998904 or at pooleoutreachteam@bcha.org.uk
Alternatively, in the case of a housing emergency or if you are aware of a person who requires more information about their current tenancy, you can call Housing and Community Services: 01202 633804
As we approached Christmas we received many donations from individuals and groups, which enabled us to make this period a truly special occasion for the homeless and recently housed who still rely on our help.
From individual supporters, some of whom did not give their names, we received over £2700. Additions to our funds also came from generous organisations and churches:
• £5000 from Bees Nest Settlement Trust
• £2000 from Greggs Foundation for Big Breakfasts
• £1850 from Princecroft Willis LLP
• £870 from Waitrose, Ashley Road, Green Token Appeal
• £450 for our Winter Warmth Appeal from Nationwide Building Society
• £180 for Evening Drop-Ins from Nationwide Building Society
• £400 from Brass Coins Ltd
• £275 via Ragtangle Shopping Village website
• £70 from the staff at Poole Contact Centre
• £25 for sleeping bags from LV (Liverpool Victoria)
• £699.08 from church funds and the Christmas collection at St Luke’s Church, Parkstone
• £400 from Poole Vineyard Church
• £400 from St Paul’s Church, Canford Heath
• £270 from Kings Church, Poole from their Christmas offering
• £250 from the Church of the Holy Angels, Lilliput
• £250 from the Church of the Transfiguration, Canford Cliffs
• £250 from St George’s Church, Oakdale
• £205.62 from Broadstone URC November communion service
• £160 from Lantern Church, Merley
• £100 from Broadstone Methodist Church
• £75 from the Saturday Night Soup-Run team
• £75 from Word of Life Church, Poole for Big Breakfasts
• £41 from Cafe – No 34, Poole Missional Communities from Christmas cake raffle
Other contributions from donors include:
• A huge donation of very good quality clothes from St Mary’s Catholic Church
• 40 scarves from TwoToo and its customers
• Christmas Day dinner gift boxes from members of Skinner St URC
• Christmas Day dinner quiz prizes from Poole Park Run runners
• Christmas Day dinner shoebox presents from the staff at Poole Contact Centre
• All the food for our Christmas Day dinner from ASDA Poole
We are grateful to all of you for your support.
As a result of our increasing and expanding projects, we are now looking to appoint a part-time Outreach Worker. You will join a team committed to delivering an assertive street outreach service to individuals sleeping rough in the Borough of Poole in partnership with Bournemouth Churches Housing Association in order to reduce the numbers rough sleeping and work with partner agencies to provide sustainable housing and support packages for those engaged with.
Salary from £6,656 per annum (16 hours per week / 52 weeks) depending on experience. The initial appointment will be for a period of six months.
The full job description and application form are available on the below links:
job description outreach worker PART TIME
Outreach Worker Person Specification
application form
If you have any difficulty in downloading these files please contact the Routes to Roots Administrator by telephone or email and copies will be sent to you:
Tel: 07901 387 643
Email address: office@www.routestoroots.org
Closing date for applications is 18th January 2013.
Interviews will be held on Thursday, 31st January 2013.
If you have not heard from us by 25th January 2013, we thank you for your interest but must advise that you have not been successful on this occasion.
Poole Outreach Support Team can put rough sleepers in touch with services and agencies who can help them address a range of issues, such as debt problems, substance misuse or whatever issues have led them to living on the streets.
The Outreach Team will be out in Poole between 6am and 8am, Monday to Friday They operate drop-in style sessions between 10am and 12 noon, Monday to Friday, and can also accompany people to appointments as needed.
Contact: 07966 808802 / 07985 998904
Outside of office hours, please call our 24 hour support service i-Support: 01202 410611
For further information, click on the link:
POSTer 2012
National Rough Sleeping Phone Line Launched
StreetLink, developed in a partnership between Homeless Link and Broadway, allows concerned people to connect rough sleepers with local advice and services they may not be aware of.
Telephone hotline: 0300 500 0914
Website: http://www.streetlink.org.uk
TwoToo offers lightweight scarves for slightly chilly days through to really warm heavier weight styles for those cold, cold days.
They make excellent ethical Christmas presents for friends and family. For every TwoToo scarf sold, they give a Classic Fleece TwoToo to a homeless person through a number of charities, including R2R: http://twotoo.co.uk/page/13/TwoToo-Preference-Codes
Approved at the AGM on 20 June 2013
To download the 2012 AGM minutes, click the link: 2012 AGM Minutes
