Social housing and regeneration expert Carolyn Wood has been appointed new Director of Programmes at Oasis Community Housing, overseeing all of the homelessness charity services.

Carolyn joins the charity’s Leadership Team from her own strategic consultancy business. With 16 years’ experience in the housing sector, from frontline roles to senior executive level, Carolyn has previously worked for Benwell Neighbourhood Management Initiative, Home Group and Auckland Home Solutions, a specialist supported housing provider.

Commenting on her appointment, Carolyn said, “I am absolutely delighted to join Oasis Community Housing and am looking forward to working with passionate and committed professionals who are driven to improve the lives of the most vulnerable adults in society.

“I am excited to be involved in influencing and shaping the services we offer as well as how we improve our provision of services throughout the UK.”

As Director of Programmes, Carolyn will oversee Oasis Community Housing’s homelessness charity services; its drop in centres, outreach, emergency accommodation, domestic abuse and employability projects that help over 1,000 people on their journey out of homelessness each year.

Based in Gateshead, Oasis Community Housing has services across North East England and South London with a strategic aim to expand its work across England.

Carolyn succeeds Phil Conn, who will move into a newly-created role as the charity’s Director of Chaplaincy.

Oasis Community Housing’s Chief Executive, David Smith, said, “We’re delighted to appoint Carolyn to this vital role at Oasis Community Housing, not least because she has a wealth of experience in enabling people facing crisis to find the right accommodation and support.  As we enter financially challenging times that are already pushing those who are struggling to the brink, Carolyn’s appointment will ensure we can continue to provide top quality support to those we serve.”

Homelessness charity Oasis Community Housing has received a £5,000 grant to create an urban garden outside of their Gateshead ‘Basis’ drop-in centre.

“We have been really fortunate to receive a grant from the B&Q Foundation to help us transform this overgrown eye-sore into a wonderful urban garden. Once finished it will be a quiet, green and therapeutic space that everyone can enjoy,” said Lynne Livsey, the charity’s Head of Prevention services.

As soon as Lynne joined the charity, in 2020, she made a bee-line for the waste land outside of the homelessness drop-in.

“It’s a sadly neglected space at the back of our building that has become a dumping ground for discarded masks, cans, bottles and rubbish.

“It’s such a shame because the inside of our lovely Basis Hub is a bright and welcoming space. After lots of lunchtime litter-picking, we decided that enough was enough and it was time for a drastic make-over!”

National DIY chain B&Q supplied a generous £5,000 grant to help the charity garden take shape.

It’s not just B&Q who have backed the urban garden project, the team have found warm community support from Gateshead Council, Big Local Gateshead, Handcrafted and Orangutan Arb.

“It’s humbling and heart-warming! Gateshead Council are helping us to clear the space and Suzanne Amey from Big Local Gateshead has donated plants to get us started. Our friends at Handcrafted have made and donated some amazing planters from recycled pallets and Orangutan Orb have donated wood chippings and tree stumps to be upcycled into stools.”

Basis Gateshead is the site of one of Oasis Community Housing’s drop-ins and the main base for the Aspire project, who support people into employment and training. The team invited people who are supported through this project to get involved at every stage of creating and developing the garden.

“Our Aspire programme participants are involved in every aspect of the project, from putting together the mood-board for the garden, choosing plants, building and planting up raised beds and digging borders, painting furniture and bird boxes, and looking after the plants.”

The team are thinking of the long term and ensuring the garden is environmentally sound, building sustainability and recycling elements into the garden from the outset.

The team have big plans for a horticultural project in the future but for now the garden will be a welcome place to relax and take a breath for staff and those visiting the drop-in and Aspire project.

Lynne added: “It will be a symbol of hope and renewal, a mini oasis in an urban jungle. It’s an important marker of recovery in so many ways as we walk with the people that we support out of the seemingly endless lockdowns and into the sunshine at last. It will make my heart sing every time I walk into the office and I’m beyond proud and excited by the enthusiasm and commitment of everyone involved.”

Read more news from our Basis project or find out how you can support Oasis Community Housing and our homelessness projects.

Young women at our Naomi project in Gateshead are enjoying a beautiful new rooms thanks to funding from The Bluestone Collaborative and The Vardy Foundation, which enabled complete overhauls of the support accommodation’s dining and front rooms.

“It was great using creative skills to achieve a new look in the dining room. The room had just become a corridor through to the kitchen, and not welcoming compared to the rest of the project.” explains Ros, Project Team Leader at Naomi; an 8-bed 24-hour staffed supported accommodation project for young women facing homelessness.

The young women who currently live at Naomi were involved with what they wanted the new dining room to look and feel like at every stage of the discussion, from the colour of the walls to the lighting – and the staff’s pets play a big part in the new theme.

Ros continues: “Staff will often bring their pets into Naomi, especially when the project is unsettled or having issues. The animals bring a sense of calm and some fun.

“The residents recognise this and respect how calming the pets can be – and often ask when they will next be coming in, with each having their own favourite.

“We have also redecorated and updated the living room, thanks to The Vardy Foundation.”

Getting involved

The residents researched canvas art, chose the photos of which staff member’s pet they would like on the canvases, the wording and ordered the canvases online. Learning new skills in the progress. The project has taken budgeting, organisation as well as ICT skills from the young women as well as the sanding and painting involved in decorating a room.

“The residents painted and cleaned the room with staff. Music was played, there was a lot of laughing and singing.

“By involving them in the planning, listening to their ideas and acting on their ideas, it allowed the women who live here a voice, pride and then respect for their environment.”

Oasis Community Housing has five core values, which run through everything the charity does and the residents chose to display these across the wall as well. Putting Hope, Life, Perseverance, Worth and Inclusion right at the centre of this communal space.

“The residents now feel they have a dining room that feels like home. The pictures make them smile. The Ethos and Values make them think and the Habits start conversations. We’re incredibly grateful to the Bluestone Consortium for making this possible for us.”

Sophie*, who has been living at Naomi for 9 months, “It feels like a real home now, it is lush!”

Outside help was also recruited, with staff from SmartIT, one of the charity’s corporate partners, spending a day’s volunteering to help build and move furniture in the new rooms.

Naomi

Our Naomi project in Gateshead is a safe haven for young women at risk of, or who have experienced homelessness. The property consists of eight bedrooms, a beautiful lounge and now is a proud owner of a newly decorated dining room. The project staffed 24/7 by a dedicated team who work to inspire these women to move forward to a hopeful and independent future. Many of the women have experienced trauma and survived domestic abuse, the Naomi project exists to enable these women the safety and support to heal and grow.

Find out more about how you can support projects like Naomi by visiting our Events pages 

OutsideIn is a clothing company that gives back. Donating an item for every item bought with their ‘Wear One, Share One’ scheme. Even during Summer, keeping warm is a major issue for those sleeping rough – which is why the socially conscious company has donated over 600 items including hats, socks and fleeces to our North East drop-ins.

As the world re opens, it’s easy to forget that things are not really changing for some people within our communities. Many people facing homelessness don’t have the financial stability to pop to the shops for a long-awaited outing. And for the people accessing our drop ins, just buying the necessary basics can be a source of huge stress.

David Johnson, founder of OutsideIn, a socially conscious UK company, is keenly aware of the complexities of life for homeless people.

David worked as an Edinburgh based photographer with ‘Humans of Edinburgh’, a project telling the stories of individuals from the city, and through his photography got to know the people behind the homelessness. It was this work which inspired him to set up a company that gives something back.

OutsideIn have been supporting Oasis Community Housing by donating over 600 items including beanies, socks and cosy fleeces to our North East drop ins.

The online retailer firmly believes that people facing the stress of homelessness deserve new, high quality items; in keeping with our values at Oasis Community Housing where we strive to see the person, the story behind every situation and to reignite people’s value and God-given worth.

Both of our drop ins have seen a positive response to the OutsideIn items with Dave Cawley, Project Team Leader of Basis Sunderland sharing that its nice to have some things that allow people to express their characters; “Richie* liked the fact that there are options, he took a yellow beanie and the next week came back for a pale blue one.”

Vikki from Basis Gateshead said, “The black fleeces are awesome, just so practical and we’ve had lots of feedback on the socks being so soft and comfortable.

“The hats have been popular too, one of our regulars was really excited by the options and took a few for his mates [who hadn’t come to the drop-in that day]”.

Oasis Community Housing’s Corporate Relationships Manager, Hazel Ditchburn, said, “It is fantastic working with Outside In, we have been overwhelmed by their energy, passion and commitment to supporting our work and helping to bridge the gap between society and people facing homelessness.

“The products donated have been so well received by our projects and we would like to take this opportunity to thank Miranda and the team at OutsideIn for their continued support.”

“It’s all about empowering women; getting involved and using our skills to help other women and girls. No.3 gives us that opportunity,” says Michelle McGrade on the work her organisation, Zonta, does with our No.3 project for young women experiencing homelessness in south London.

Zonta Club of London, is part of a worldwide organisation that is actively engaged in changing the lives of women and girls, both in and outside of Zonta. It was founded in 1919 to bring together women in executive positions; empowering women and helping them reach their rightful places in the professions that, at the time, rarely had female leaders.

The partnership began two years ago when they chose Oasis Community Housing as their Charity of the Year after hearing about our work with young women in Southwark.

“Just giving money without understanding more or being more actively involved didn’t feel right for us,” continues Michelle. “We’ve held a couple of pretty successful fundraising evenings and our members have also contributed by going into No.3 and holding careers and wellbeing sessions as well as supporting with CV writing.

“I did an evening on how to manage your money and set up a bank account. I was inspired by how enthusiastic and eager the women at No.3 were to learn. Many of them are dealing with so much other big-life stuff that sharing those little, practical life skills seemed to really help.”

No.3 houses up to 16 young women at a time. The project has run for more than 30 years and helped hundreds of young vulnerable women get back on their feet following, family breakdowns, abuse and childhoods in care.

Jen Gauden-Hand, who oversees No.3 as Oasis Community Housing’s Director of Housing, said: “We have two housing projects supporting young people experiencing homelessness in London, which are in high demand. The kind of support delivered by Zonta, from one woman to another, is invaluable.

“We need the support of our communities at a time like now, more than ever.”

Most recently Zonta Club of London has helped No.3 start on its refurbishment by re-flooring the entire downstairs of the property.

Read more news and case studies from our No.3 project or find out how you can become more involved in supporting Oasis Community Housing.

This month marks one year since the UK’s first lockdown began – prompting the Government’s ‘Everyone In’ initiative that moved almost 15,000 rough sleepers into temporary accommodation. Our Resettlement team was established at lightning speed to help hundreds of people with the transition.

To mark one year of lockdown, we speak to Louise, one of the team’s support workers, to tell us more about how the team works.

RESETTLING

We start from the bottom and work our way up – think Maslow’s Hierarchy.

We listen to the people we work with and during our initial conversation we identify first ‘does this person have their immediate needs met?’ Food and shelter? If not, what can we do to help? This gives us an opportunity to speak to people about finances and budgeting, and identify what support needs to be provided around this too.

Next we step to the ‘safety stage’. Do you have access to housing? At this point we work with other agencies to support people to secure housing, filling in housing application forms and bidding for properties.

Does the person have access to a GP to assist with any physical or mental health needs? If so, are they accessing this service and receiving support – if not, we support people to fill in the forms to register with a GP near where they are living or staying at that time. Giving people access to medication which may be needed for physical ailments or to support mental wellbeing.

We support people to access support needed from other services; drug and alcohol, counselling, probation, social services, education and housing to name a few.

We can help people through the provision of food support, sourcing clothing, bedding or other things we all take for granted at home. Sometimes we can access financial support through grants to help people really make their new property a home. Somewhere that is warm, safe and a place that they belong.

BELONGING AND BELIEVING

One of my favourite parts in this role, is when a person we support gets their own tenancy and we can give them a lovely ‘new home’ card. Another thing we all take for granted – the feeling of belonging, of being cared for when we receive small gestures such as a simple card.

I really feel that unlike Maslow’s hierarchy, we don’t step up to love and belonging, self-esteem, recognition, sense of connection and freedom. We do this alongside those first steps. We help people to see the positive steps they are taking, and their importance in this world.

So that brings me back to, what do we do?

We care. We listen. We support. We believe in the people that we work with.

A New Year and a new Lockdown means many people are considering how to reinvigorate their Lockdown exercise habits, to help keep mind and body healthy.

“I needed to release some inner anxieties and what better way than to run?” says Christine.

Christine signed up for the Great North Run a couple of years ago, but her motivations for starting running then ring as true today for those seeking Lockdown exercise too.

“It actually couldn’t have come at a better time. I’m no athlete; I rarely do exercise to be honest, but I was desperate to achieve something by myself and this was my way of accomplishing something on my own.

“So I took out my ear muffs and headphones and started training.”

VIDEO: WHY CHRISTINE PICKED UP HER RUNNING SHOES

Christine had been working for Oasis Community Housing for two years when she decided to take on the famous Great North Run, signing up for one of the charity’s places.

“The cold runs were daunting to begin with, but after getting some warmer running gear I started to enjoy the freedom, the chance for my mind to concentrate on something other than worry and stress.

“Seeing the miles rack up each time was so rewarding.

“I’ll not lie it’s really hard to start off running but once you get into the habit it makes you feel so much better.

“I had previously run the Great North Run about 10 years ago, but didn’t do well at all it took me nearly 4 hours and I hated every second of it.

I smiled from ear to ear the whole way

“This time, on the day, though I didn’t have anyone to compete with – just myself. I just gently jogged through the roaring crowds and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I didn’t stop once, I smiled from ear to ear the whole way through and, when I made it to the finish line 2 and half hours later, I cried.

“The lady who handed me by bag asked why I was crying, and it was because I was so proud of myself. I had ran 13.1 miles without stopping. I had totally doubted myself I always do, thinking, I’m not an athlete, I’m not a runner I can’t do this. But actually I could and I did.

“I’m still so proud of myself to this day … the fact of the matter was that I put my mind to it did it, and raised money for Oasis Community Housing too!

“I would highly recommend doing the Great North Run at least once in your life, it certainly made me realise that you can achieve things if you put your mind to it. I struggle a lot with doubting myself and anxiety. But I managed to do it. So you can too!”

Find out more about running – or walking – for Oasis Community Housing and supporting people facing homelessness this year by visiting our Events pages.

Based in Croydon, south London, The Foyer provides accommodation and training for young people aged 16-25 who have become homeless.

The Foyer’s vision is to raise young people’s beliefs in their future, draw out their talents and aspirations, engage them in positive activity, and develop life skills to live independently – setting themselves up for their future.

Duncan was one such resident.

After working for a software company in Holland, Duncan returned to the UK and found himself living on the streets of south London.

“I was 23 or 24 at the time and, let’s just say, I made a few bad decisions, particularly about who I chose to live with – and ended up on the streets.”

When he came to stay at The Foyer, it was the staff there who encouraged Duncan to think about starting studying again.

“All the Foyer residents got lessons in cookery and looking after yourself, but you also got life coaching as well. The staff were always coming out with the most fantastic statements about what we could do.

“At first I’d think ‘You’re just being funny, that’s not something I’d be able to do’. But after a while I started thinking, why not?

“My grandfather worked in printing and it just struck as something that I might be interested in, so I started going to lessons in graphic design at the London College of Printing.”

Duncan went on to use his skills – not only helping The Foyer staff in setting up a resident newsletter, but, after moving out of The Foyer, in setting up his own graphic design business too specialising in leaflets and stationery as well as CGI animation.

As told to the South London Guardian newspaper