Local homeless charity marks 30 years in West Sussex with crucial appeal

Local homeless charity Turning Tides is marking 30 years since its foundation in 1992 – and this landmark 30th year is bringing a crucial appeal for community support as they try to source funding for their vital frontline services.

Last year, the charity supported over 900 homeless people, and homeless numbers are rising as households face escalating living costs. The charity is navigating cuts to established funding streams and is very concerned about its crucial outreach and hub services, which provide life-saving support to people who are homeless and having to sleep rough.

Turning Tides’ Chief Executive, John Holmstrom is very concerned: “The future of our Community Hubs and outreach must be secured if we are to continue our life saving work. People come to our Hubs, very often, because they have no other place to turn to.  Some are extremely vulnerable and experiencing severe mental ill health, and physical illness, from having to live on the streets or fleeing violence. There is no doubt in my mind - if the Hubs are unable to remain open - people’s lives will be at risk.”

The charity’s outreach teams and Community Hubs provide essential practical and emotional support to people across West Sussex who have to sleep rough. The Hubs are the fundamental start to most people’s journey out of homelessness - representing a much-needed safety net - with access to food, showers, washing machines, medical care, counselling, and vital help with housing and employment. People experiencing homelessness depend on them, as one hub-user explains: “Sleeping rough … I have been through hell and back…  if the Community Hub had not been open there would have been a lot of deaths.”

Over the years, thousands of people have depended on support from the Hubs and outreach teams, something which Claire Halford-Dale, Worthing’s Hub Manager is only too aware: 

“It takes a lot of courage for anyone to ask for help. A lot of people that come to us are really at their lowest ebb, they often feel physically and emotionally exhausted - the toll of sleeping rough in all weathers. Every single person that comes to us is different, how they became homeless is different and consequently how we support them is different. It is vital everyone is understood as an individual with their own needs and circumstances. On any given day we see people who all need access to a range of support such as mental health and counselling, advice on housing, money management, essential physical health and dental care, clean and warm clothing, food and much more.  

The one thing they always receive here is a warm and caring smile. To know they don’t have to go through the trauma of homelessness alone – that the Hubs are always here to help. We are sometimes the only constant in their lives. I am in no doubt the Hubs have saved lives, especially during the pandemic where isolation really took hold. These are places where people who have nothing at all can finally get the help they need and we need them more than ever.” 

The number of people homeless in England is predicted to jump by a third by 2024. Councils are warning there will be a “tidal wave” of need caused by benefit freezes, soaring food and energy bills and the end of Covid eviction bans. It could equate to more than 66,000 more people homeless by 2024.*

Turning Tides fear that at this critical time, when demand for their services has never been greater, they may not be able to operate the Hubs and provide the support people depend on.

Ruth Poyner, Head of Fundraising and Communications emphasises:   

“Our Hubs and outreach teams are our ‘frontline’ – ensuring we can support all those in our county that need our support. They are the place where people arrive in despair and receive emotional and practical help, the crucial beginning of a pathway out of their desperate situation. These are extraordinary places of practical support, comfort, acceptance and shared resilience. They transform lives and, without doubt, they save lives. For all these reasons, our services are more important than ever. We are asking for help to continue our frontline services, so we don’t let the people who need us down.

Just £50 funds a half day of support – providing food, warmth, showers, medical support, counselling, housing advice and much more. We are tackling the ‘perfect storm’ of homelessness and we are asking for help to ensure we can stay open so no one faces the trauma of homelessness alone.”

To donate or find out more about the charity please visit their website: www.turning-tides.org.uk