Following World Homeless Day, which was marked on the 10th of October, we want to highlight the crucial work of Caritas Anchor House, a registered charity based in Canning Town that provides support for single homeless adults. In addition to offering accommodation, they provide an array of services and programmes which help residents on their journey towards sustainable, independent living. We caught up with them to find out more about their work.

What does your charity do?
Caritas Anchor House is primarily a homeless charity supporting single homeless adults in the London Borough of Newham. We are a lifeline for those experiencing homelessness in our community, and our 140 rooms make us the largest service provider for single homeless adults in the borough.

But we do more than just provide a roof over a head for someone experiencing homelessness, our support is there to help each person build a new beginning and start a new sustainable independent life. We do this through personal rehabilitation, support with physical and mental wellbeing, access to skills, education and employment opportunities, building support networks and communities, and finally in providing a helping hand to find the right home.

Last year alone we supported over 200 people in their journey from homelessness to independent living through our services. An amazing 43 residents secured a new job during the year, and we also recorded 327 attendances at work-readiness sessions. In our 2018 survey, 75% of our residents told us that they felt more likely to get a job since moving in, which is a true testament to not only the skills our residents gain during their stay, but to the growth in confidence they achieve. Finally, we saw almost 50 residents take their final step towards their new beginning as they moved into a new home.

We also support our wider community through our ‘Your Space’ programme, a talking-based therapeutic service. We hold walks and talks, conversation classes, and coffee mornings to bring together the most isolated members of our community in a safe space. Our goal is to promote community cohesion by facilitating conversations and building bridges, confidence, and security. We recorded almost 2,000 attendances last year across our seven different groups, including over 100 attendances at our wellbeing events held over the year.

What challenges are there in east London with regards to the issues your service users face?
In the London Borough of Newham, a staggering 1 in 24 people do not have a place to call home, the highest in the country. There are 4,500 registered homeless households in temporary accommodation, the highest number in London. This means our residents face high demands on the homelessness and other support services they desperately need.

Newham is the 25th most deprived local authority in the UK, and a shocking 37% of Newham’s population are living in poverty after the costs of their housing – ten percent higher than the London average. This inevitably impacts on many aspects of life for its residents such as health, education, employment and housing.

In terms of education, over a third of 19 year olds lack Level 3 Qualifications, meaning they do not have A levels or any equivalent. Newham also faces a high unemployment rate at 6%, but even for working residents 32% are in low paid employment, the highest percentage in London. For our resident group, of those moving in last year only 6% were in paid employment, however we are delighted that of those leaving Caritas Anchor House last year almost half were in employment.

The cost of the average property in Newham has been increasing consistently over the last decade, and has become increasingly inaccessible for residents. For first time buyers the cost of a home is now around £138,000 more than five years ago. These increases are also affecting those renting properties. In London as a whole rents have risen by 22% since 2011, and in Newham a two-bed typically costs £1,400 per month, which is 60% of the average local income making the cost of housing massively unaffordable. This is why our Move On team is so important as they support our residents to find and secure affordable housing which is suitable to their situation.

Overall Newham is a borough which has seen a lot of change and upheaval, with investment in local infrastructure creating an increase in the cost of living which its residents cannot keep up with. Unfortunately this means that the demand for our services continues to increase, and so we will continue to be a lifeline to those in need in our area.

Are there any stories that you would like to share?
Adel’s Story:

“I was homeless for about six months and was sleeping rough, mainly in shopping centres. Luckily, a church in Stratford put me in touch with Caritas Anchor House, and I moved in.”

In the face of having to find their feet in a foreign country, often with refugees facing a change in culture and language, many suffer from isolation and anxiety.

“I have neurological problems which can give me physical symptoms too, which made sleeping rough particularly difficult. But Caritas Anchor House are helping me with that. They have linked me up with services to get support to managing my symptoms.They’ve put me in touch with Newham Talking Therapies, and I attend the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in central London, as well as have physiotherapy sessions. It’s made such a difference.”

Since arriving Adel has become an integral part of the CAH resident community. He is the first to sign up to engagement events, ranging from boxing sessions, fundraising events in the House of Lords, Wellbeing Retreats to Norfolk and even learning how to barber.

Recently Adel joined in with a UK Harvest visit helping cook a nutritious, vegan meal from surplus vegetables for 50 of his fellow residents.

“All the people at Caritas Anchor House are really nice and have really helped me. I have built friendships and feel like part of a community. I’ve met lots of people and it helps me improve my English to talk and laugh with them. Now I’m studying English and IT and looking to get into work. I used to study photography and graphics and now I love taking pictures. I’ve taken part in the photography classes at Caritas Anchor House, and would love to work as a photographer.”

What are the current challenges that your organisation is facing?
There are 320,000 recorded homeless individuals in England. These figures have doubled since 2010, and continue to increase year on year. Caritas Anchor House works at the heart of the UK homelessness crisis. Newham is a homeless hotspot with the highest ratio of homeless people per capita, and the 6th highest number of rough sleepers in the country.

This means we face a heavy demand on our services and are in constant need of expansion in capacity and in services. However, the voluntary sector has long been facing a challenging external funding climate, and we see this as we search for funding for our growth and expansion.

We also are seeing an increased level of complex needs in our resident group. Last year 60% of our residents had at least one complex needs, including drug or alcohol misuse, offending, mental health and domestic abuse. Our specialised team is able to support residents in house with these needs, and with our network of local partnerships our residents are supported to engage with the support they need.

Finally, the consequences of Newham’s housing crisis are a great challenge for us. For many of our residents their support network is in the local area, which not only includes friends and family but also healthcare services for both physical and mental health. However, with the lack of affordable or supported housing in Newham, our numbers moving into their own homes are restricted by property availability. Thankfully our Move-On team have built strong partnerships with the Local Authority and with local landlords to ensure that each resident ready to take their final step into independence can access a suitable and long-term home.

If you are keen to find out how you can support Caritas Anchor House, please get in touch with harriet.joseph@elba-1.org.uk.