So, 2020 has been a strange year for everyone, it has been a year of learning a new language – Lockdown, Social Distancing and Furlough to mention a few. Covid -19 stopped us all in our tracks back in March but at Greater Places we couldn’t stop, people were in desperate need and we had to respond.
It was apparent at the start of Lockdown that we could not continue to deliver the support service in the same way to those living in our accommodation and moving on from homelessness.
So what did we do?…..
Well initially we met with other local organisations and found a way we could all work together to assist the individuals that were relying on us for day to day support. We manned the phone lines and spoke to each of our tenants on a daily basis to ensure they were coping with the changes and understood the new rules. For many they just needed someone to talk to and it was a vital way of keeping in touch during the difficult few months.
The immediate impact of lockdown was that some of the people we work with were struggling to feed themselves. Feelings of isolation were common, as were the feelings of being trapped in their own homes, contributing to a significant impact on people’s mental health. Our team worked hard to ensure that all tenants had enough food via foodbanks and other partners, and we managed to secure credits on Electricity and Gas accounts.
As we started to ease out of lockdown, we noticed that anxieties remained high amongst our clients with concerns about catching the virus and the stresses of having to navigate an already overloaded benefits system. This is coupled with what we already know: that the people we work with have already been living in poverty and dealing with financial and social exclusion
As we start the transition into the new normal, we are working hard to develop a plan to ensure we meet the ever changing needs of our tenants, as well as making sure we can assist more people moving on from homelessness. At Greater Places we know that we have to tackle the issues of financial poverty before we can start to help with other presenting problems. Our aim is always to help people feel settled in their new home, before we start to look forward to where they want to go, with either the skills they have or can start to develop.
We know the coming months are going to be difficult for a great number of people, but we are confident that by working in close collaboration with other organisations, we will be able to respond to whatever comes our way.
Finally we would like to say a massive THANK YOU to our team for all their hard work in such a difficult and usual time and to the organisations and individuals who have assisted us over the last few months. We don’t know what the coming months, years’ will bring but we are certain that by working together we can provide the help that is desperately needed.