Head of the Supreme Court to lead Sussex Legal Sponsored Walk

The Head of the Supreme Court, Lord Philips of Worth Matravers, will be leading the second Hastings annual 10k Legal sponsored walk on the 28th September, to fundraise for local legal aid centres.

The walk will raise money for the three leading legal services in Hastings; BHT Hastings Advice and Representative Centre (HARC) and Citizens Advice 1066 (CA). The three charities are working together as an advice coalition to advise people on low incomes on issues of homelessness, debt and welfare benefits.

BHT Hastings Advice, the housing arm of the advice coalition, is fairly new to the Hastings area having just opened its doors six months ago. The service offers specialist housing advice and a court duty scheme that is funded by Hastings Borough Council.

Jo Wilson, BHT Hastings Advice Manager said,

“We started attending court in April 2010 to support people who are threatened with losing their homes. Since attending court we have prevented 83% of our clients from becoming homeless.

Hastings Advice and the court duty scheme are heavily relied upon services in the area. The pressure is increasing as more people face financial hardship and struggle to meet their mortgage repayments. Without Legal Aid these services would not exist and people would not be able to source the advice and support that they need.”

The 10k walk will see lawyers from legal firms, chambers, in-house legal departments and law schools, members of the judiciary as well as lots of non legal participants all walking together to raise funds for legal aid services in Hastings.

The walkers will start at the Old Courthouse at 5:00pm.

Garden of Eve for Threshold Women’s Counselling Service

Threshold held an official opening of their new outside space last week.

Staff at the Women’s Counselling Service have created the outside space for the women and children that use its services to have a ‘safe haven’ and a calm place to relax.

Threshold, received funding from the Heart FM “Have a Heart” appeal, to clear and develop the outside space at its base in central Brighton and create ‘The Garden of Eve’, an urban space of calm and tranquillity.

Posted: Thursday 9th September 2010

First Base Client Mackeral Bonanza!

Clients from Fitness 4 All and the Catering Training Project set sail from Brighton Marina to fish for Mackerel this month.

The crew onboard the boat looked after everyone very well, showing them how to use the rods and teaching them techniques on how to catch Mackerel, how to kill it and even how to gut the fish.

After a slightly squeamish start (by staff) the clients quickly got the hang of things and it wasn’t long before they were reeling in a bountiful catch. In total the team caught a staggering 34 Mackerel with some people pulling out 4 at a time!!

Everyone enjoyed fishing for a good hour and a half before being brought back to shore to barbeque their catch. The Catering Training Project provided additional food and refreshments and demonstrated how to safely clean and cook the fish.

The event was enjoyed by all and clients commented that they found the experience an inspiring and refreshing change.

Posted: Friday 27th August 2010

Urgent appeal for sun cream

BHT is appealing for donations of sun cream for homeless men and women this summer.

Deborah Sarsons, a case worker at First Base said

“The majority of us have been waiting for these warm temperatures throughout the winter but unfortunately this isn’t the case for everyone. For our clients that are out in the sun all day everyday with no shelter to protect them, the summer can be a dangerous and stressful time. Over the last few weeks the weather has been particularly hot and we are seeing more and more homeless men and women with severe cases of sun burn and sun stroke.”

“Our limited supply of sun protection cream is now running really low and so we are appealing for donations to help us to help homeless men and women in the city.”

“There are lots of buy one get one free offers for sun cream at the moment and so we are asking people to consider donating their free bottle to us so that we can prevent clients from getting sun burn and sun stroke over the coming months. “

If you would like to make a donation please contact Deborah Sarson on 01273 326844.

Posted: Friday 23rd July 2010

Refugee week event a great success

One world many voices; the BHT event that was held to mark refugee week, saw the support 4 housing drop in at its busiest yet.

Over 100 people attended the event to celebrate refugee week, learn more about refugees in Brighton and Hove and to taste the array of wonderful food on offer from the four corners of the globe.

Representatives from a wide range of organisations attended the event in force from Amnesty International, interpreting services, and refugee support groups.

BHT‘s own services were there too, including Support4Housing and Threshold (both services offer support to refugees, in the case of Threshold, women refugees and their children).

Posted: Tuesday 29th June 2010

Over 100 lawyers join forces to fundraise for legal aid services in Sussex

The third annual Sussex legal walk was ‘the best yet’ with over 100 legal professionals walking across the Downs to raise money for legal aid services in Sussex.

The 10k sponsored walk was led by one of the first eleven Justices of the Supreme Court, Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony. The blue skies and warm temperature ensured that the walk was enjoyable for everyone involved.

The walk, organised by The London Legal Support Trust, saw lawyers from firms, chambers, in-house legal departments and law schools walk the 10 kilometres to support BHT as well as the Citizens Advice bureau and Money Advice and Community Support.

Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony said

“I thank everyone for coming along to the event to raise money for legal aid organisations in Sussex. The turn out is the best yet and I look forward to seeing fifty percent more people this time next year to raise money for a really important cause.”

Posted: Tuesday 22nd June 2010

Preventing loss of Homes through Hastings

A scheme to help those facing the loss of their homes through the Courts has been relaunched in Hastings.

BHT has recently started to run the Hastings Court Duty Scheme, which is funded by Hastings Borough Council.

Scheme manager, Jo Wilson, described what the service does:

“We aim to have advisers available whenever a repossession case is to be heard by the Court. We work with people with mortgage arrears, rent arrears, and those facing homelessness for a number of other reasons.

People often don’t believe that anything can be done once the matter reaches Court, but that isn’t the case. For a number of years BHT has been running a Court Duty Scheme in Brighton, Lewes and in Eastbourne, and in 85% of cases, a solution is found where the individual does not lose their home.

We often have just ten minutes with the individual but even in that time we can see that there are other options, including rescheduling debts, claiming Tax Credits, and so on. We schedule appointments with other experts and are able to tell the judge what might be possible.

I find this such an inspiring service. We can achieve amazing results, even at the eleventh hour”.

Advice can be obtained from:

Posted: Friday 18th June 2010

10k Walk Latest

The 10k walk is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever this year with over 100 walkers already registered and over £1,000 pounds already raised.

The weather reports are promising blue skies and warm temperatures for the evening, ensuring a beautiful, leisurely walk for everyone involved. what more could we ask for?

Celebrating refugees in Brighton and Hove

BHT will be marking refugee week with an information and food sharing event to welcome learning and celebrate diversity in Brighton and Hove.

‘One World: Many Voices’ will be held on the 15th June to celebrate and welcome refugees in the City as part of the awareness week.

The event will provide lots of information about local services for refugees as well as providing free food and recipes from around the globe for everyone to taste and learn about.

Jennifer Alcock, One World : Many Voices Coordinator said:

“Many of our clients at BHT are of refugee status so the event is a really nice way to embrace different cultures and traditions and make them feel welcome in the community. Refugees week is a unique opportunity to discover the contributions refuges bring to the UK and we hope that One World: Many Voices will help to share these contributions and encourage better understanding between communities'

Computer Training at BHT for Digitally Excluded

We are proud to announce that we have become an official UK Online Centre; a Government accreditation that enables us to provide a wide range of computer training to digitally excluded people throughout Sussex.

Some 90% of UK government services are already available electronically. Being unable to use computers and the internet is now a significant economic and social disadvantage. Research in 2006 by UK online centres found that 13.6 million adults in England are 'digitally excluded', of which an estimated 6.6 million have two or more ‘social needs’ which require them to contact central or local government – for instance living in local authority housing or being in receipt of government benefits. Online Centre’s throughout the UK are meeting this need head on. There are more than 6,000 centers’, more than half of which located in England’s 2,000 most deprived wards.

A range of courses are now available at BHT, all designed to teach people the very basics of computers and the internet; from how to use a mouse and a keyboard to shopping and job hunting online. Courses are accredited and participants will walk away with a certificate to show which courses they have completed.

Lord Clarke to lead the Brighton Legal Sponsored Walk

It was announced today that the Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony will be leading the third annual Brighton 10k Legal sponsored walk on the 21st June.

The sponsored walk, organised by Brighton Housing Trust and the London Legal Support Trust, will see lawyers from firms, chambers, in-house legal departments, law schools and members of the judiciary as well as lots of non-legal participants all walking together to raise funds for legal aid services in Sussex.

Walkers will be taken on a beautiful route through the Sussex Downs to Ovingdean and Roedean and back along the under cliffs to a reception, where well-deserved refreshments and nibbles will be on hand for everyone.

John Holmstrom, BHT’s Assistant Chief Executive, said:

“BHT’s Legal Services are our most heavily relied upon services, working with over 10,000 clients last year. The pressure is increasing as more people face financial hardship and struggle to meet their mortgage repayments. It is fantastic to see people from the legal profession and beyond coming together to support others and raise much needed funds to maintain free legal advice“.

BHT in Homeless World Cup
Team Sensation!

A football fan from BHT’s First Base Day Centre has made it through to the final of the homeless world cup try outs and is one step closer to playing as part of the England team in Rio De Jenero.

Craig has been training for the competition at First Base’s Fitness 4 All sessions that have been held each week in conjunction with Brighton and Hove Albion’s ‘Albion in the community’. Fitness 4 All is a Big Lottery Funded project that designed to improve health and fitness of people who are sleeping rough, homeless or vulnerably housed in the City.

Simon Cotterell, Fitness 4 All coordinator said:

“We are all really excited for Craig and have our fingers crossed for the final selection round in two weeks time. Craig is a brilliant football player and his commitment to training over the last few months has seen him grow from strength to strength. I think he has a really strong chance of making the team.“

“The coaches at Manchester United are going to be choosing 10 people out of the final 30, so effectively Craig has a 1 in 3 chance of playing for England in Rio De Janero.”

The final selection round will take place in 2 weeks time at Manchester United's training ground.

Posted: Thursday 13th May 2010

Work and Learning Fair Success

BHT’s work and learning fair was a fantastic success with over 80 homeless, insecurely housed and vulnerable men and women attending the event to learn more about work and learning opportunities in the City.

A variety of organisations attended the event such as Job Centre Plus, The Next-Step Career’s advice centre and Brighton Unemployed Centre Families Project. All were on hand to give friendly advice and support to our service users on all things work and learning from paid work and voluntary opportunities to healthy living and being fit and ready for work.

Karen Robinson, the Work and Leaning fair coordinator said:

“We were all really pleased with the way the event turned out and the feedback from service users was all really positive. All of the organisations reported a fantastic number of self referrals to their services and two clients even secured paid work! The more holistic side of the fair was also really popular with lots of service users showing an interest in confidence building courses as well as yoga, meditation and tai chi classes at the Buddhist centre.“

Posted: Thursday 18th March 2010

Delegation of South African housing experts learn lessons of hope and courage in Brighton

A delegation from the South African Housing Foundation, led by the Minister of Housing for the Provincial Government of the Western Cape,Bonginkosi Madikizela, has visited Brighton and Hove to learn about the housing situation in the City and how the issues of drug addiction and employment are tackled. Mr Madikizela is the nephew of Winnie Madikizela Mandela.

The delegation met with the leader of the City Council, Councillor Mary Mears together with housing offices from the Council before visiting City College to look at short courses and apprenticeships within the building industry. Finally, the delegation met with service users from Brighton Housing Trust's Addiction Services who shared with them their experience of homelessness, addiction and recovery.

Speaking after the visit, BHT Chief Executive, Andy Winter, spoke about the importance of the visit:

"There are many challenges in common between Brighton and Hove and the Western Cape. A shortage of housing, inward migration, unemployment and drug addiction are common to both areas. As someone born and brought up in Cape Town, this annual visit is one of the highlights of my year since it brings together the two areas of the world I love most.

It was a priviledge to be with them as they learned about the work of the City Council, City College and BHT. As always, the highlight was listening to the stories of courage and hope from the residents at BHT's Recovery Project. I know our visitors were moved by the experiences of Neil and Zoe who shared their stories with them".

The delegation had lunch with Cllr. Mears in the Mayor's Parlour with the food being provided by Dine! - an external catering company set up by BHT and run as a social enterprise.

For further information please contact Andy Winter on 07734 257759

Posted: Thursday 18th March 2010

First Base Heritage Project gets a First Round Pass

Plans for a proposed heritage project, based at BHT's First Base Day Centre, have been given the green light by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) it was announced today. Brighton Housing Trust have been awarded a first-round pass of just over £22,000 to help develop plans for a full grant request of £286,600. The project will involve service users in researching the history of poverty and homelessness throughout the lifetime of the First Base building.

A Grade 2 listed building built in 1766, First Base has spent the past 30 years providing a range of services to homeless and vulnerable men and women.

The Heritage Project will examine the changing profile of a homeless person, workhouses and other ‘poor’ institutions, diet and disease and the development of the welfare state. The resulting research will be used to produce educational materials for use by schools and other groups visiting First Base to learn more about issues surrounding homelessness and the heritage of the building. Service users will also have the opportunity to take part in conservation master classes and assist with the restoration of many of the building’s historical features, such as the friezes and the belfry.

The proposed restoration element of the project will complement the major redevelopment taking place at First Base, in partnership with the CLG and Brighton and Hove City Council, to provide new and improved facilities to service users.

BHT’s Director of Homelessness, Nikki Homewood said:

”We are really excited about having the chance to both restore the building to its former glory and involve service users in the restoration process. We believe the research project will discover fascinating facts about the building, Brighton and homelessness over the past 250 years. It is a wonderful opportunity to explore this hidden heritage!”

If the project is successful in securing funding, service users will be trained to facilitate in the delivery of the education sessions, including role play and cookery lessons, to schools and community groups in the local area.

Posted: Thursday 18th March 2010

BHT buys PR business

A deal has been announced that sees BHT become the first charity to buy a PR business and run it as a social enterprise. BHT now owns established agency Blue Rocket and its sister company Green Rocket which specialises in environmental campaigns. The whole team is staying on and overall management remains with account director Vicky Hoad who has been with Blue Rocket for six years.

As part of BHT Enterprises Ltd. Blue Rocket will keep its current business model and continue to deliver journalism-led PR for clients nationwide. The difference is that all profits will now go to BHT’s charitable work. This includes frontline services like day centres, advice to prevent homelessness and training and employment projects to get people back on their feet.

The acquisition is part of BHT’s drive to become more self-sufficient by diversifying its revenue. Sustainable growth is planned for both Blue Rocket and Green Rocket alongside investment in resources and training. Both PR companies have a history in the third sector and Green Rocket was originally set up as a CIC. Third sector campaigns include Green-Works, Social Enterprise London, RNIB and Help the Aged. Blue Rocket is also active in the private sector with clients including Mentholatum and Finance South East.

Blue Rocket account director Vicky Hoad said:

“We’ve been quietly turning PR stereotypes on their head for some time and this unusual move is the right one for us. As well as protecting our independence this deal means our profits will help BHT fight homelessness. It’s another layer of job satisfaction which I hope will attract many more talented people to join our team. We remain dedicated to helping our clients build their reputation in a way that meets their development goals. I believe the key to doing this well is continuing to work like journalists, tell interesting stories and adapt to suit the media’s fast-changing needs.

BHT chief executive Andy Winter said:

“Acquiring Blue Rocket Ltd and Green Rocket CIC marks an exciting stage in BHT’s long term ambitions of developing profitable social enterprises. This move will help us generate unrestricted additional income for the Trust and offer increased work placement, training and employment opportunities for vulnerable people.

Some may express surprise that BHT has branched out in this direction, but for us it makes perfect commercial sense. Through the gift-aiding of profits we will continue to focus on our primary aim of tackling homelessness. This means providing opportunities for those with an unsettled way of life and promoting change for the benefit of individual service users and the community in which we work. We wanted to buy a company with good growth potential and were drawn to the track record of satisfied clients which both Blue Rocket and Green Rocket have achieved.

Blue Rocket founder and former owner Kim Stoddart will continue to be involved as a retained consultant while moving to Wales to become a smallholder and part-time business consultant.
She said:

“The typical move would have been to sell to another PR company but I wanted to protect our commitment to putting clients’ interest first and looking after our team of rocketeers. The deal with BHT is a perfect fit in terms of ethical culture as well as entrepreneurial ambitions".

There has been much media interest in this story, including peices from the following websites:

Poverty & Homelessness
Action Week 2010

This week is Poverty & Homelessness Action week, a week intended to provoke thought, understanding and change for people who are living in poverty, homelessness or bad housing.

In East and West Sussex respectively, 17.7 % and 13.2% of dependent children are now classed as living in poverty, according to figures from central government. These figures back up a recent Save the Children report stating 160,000 children in the South East now live in poverty. If unemployment continues to grow, then so, too, will this figure.

Assistant Chief Executive John Holmstrom said:

“At Brighton Housing Trust our mission is to combat homelessness, create opportunities and promote change. Every week our services provide support to men and women and families who find themselves in need. Last year alone, in partnership with a number of organisations across the County, we helped over 12,000 local people. Our Advice Centres in Brighton and Eastbourne assisted almost 10,000 people who came to us seeking legal or debt advice, help accessing welfare benefits, help with housing issues such as bad housing, landlord disputes or help in finding accommodation”.

Director of Homelessness Services, Nikki Homewood, said:

“Our day centre, First Base, provides vital early morning services to men and women who have slept out. In partnership with the local authority, it has also provided emergency shelter to homeless men and women when the outside temperature has gone below freezing. Phase One, our high support hostel, provides a safe, comfortable place with 24 hour support to 52 people at any one time. People who, without the service, would not be receiving help to keep them well and safe and to move on from homelessness to independent living. We hope that one day our services are no longer required. Until then BHT will continue to fight homelessness and poverty and to empower people to turn their lives around and move forwards”.

HCHA become part of BHT

Hastings Community Housing Association (HCHA) has become part of BHT when formal approval was given by Government regulators, the Tenant Services Authority and the Financial Services Authority.

HCHA provide 83 homes and supported housing for 31 young people aged between 16 and 20. It will run as a department of BHT to be known as Hastings Community Housing, and the existing staff and office accommodation in Havelock Road, Hastings, will be retained in order to ensure that residents enjoy continuity of service delivery.

Gill Barwick, Chair of the HCHA Management Committee said of the merger,

“In BHT we have found an organisation with a similar ethos and focus on services to residents. As a Committee our first priority is our 114 residents and staff. We are proud of the quality services we have built in Hastings, especially our services for young people. By becoming part of BHT, there will be new growth opportunities as part of an organisation with ambitious, yet realistic plans for the future”.

BHT Chief Executive, Andy Winter, said,

“We are delighted that HCHA has joined BHT. While we have a comprehensive range of services for homeless and vulnerable men and women, and wide ranging expertise, HCH will strengthen this because of the quality of their services to young people. By joining BHT, HCH will be able to retain its identity which is important given its excellent reputation. We want to build on what is already a very impressive operation. HCHA will benefit from BHT’s experience and expertise, resulting in continuous improvements in service delivery to residents”.

Posted: Monday 8th February 2010

The BEST possible cause for celebration!

Finding Futures, BHT’s Hastings-based project that provides work and learning opportunities for those not engaged in education, employment or training, held a double celebration on Friday (15th January) to mark its first anniversary and to mark the launch of its latest training scheme, ‘BEST at Finding Futures’.

The service offers a personalised development programme designed to help people of all ages gain confidence to take up further education, training and employment opportunities.

Finding Futures is a partner in the BEST project which is funded by Hastings Borough Council (through the Government’s Area Based Grant) and managed by Sussex Coast College Hastings. The other partners in the BEST partnership include Horizons, The Fellowship of St Nicholas, The Bridge, Crossland and Dudson, The Shaw Trust, Hastings Furniture Service, Albion in the Community, AmicusHorizon, and Xtrax. The BEST Project in Hastings and St Leonards provides access to free learning and training to people who are out of work or on a low income. BEST stands for ‘Building, Engagement, Support and Trust’.

Guest of honour at the celebration was the Member of Parliament for Hastings and Rye, Michael Foster MP. Michael Foster said:

“While the partnership working between the various agencies is very impressive, and the individual work of all the projects is to be applauded, the most important aspect of the BEST project is the confidence it gives to learners.Finding Futures itself has come of age, and is doing some excellent work to help change the lives of those it works with. I have been impressed by the accounts I have heard of progress into education of those learners working with Finding Futures”.

Finding Futures Manager, Philippa White, said:

“One of the qualities that our learners highlight about Finding Futures is that they work in groups of no more than four. We have been told by our learners that they find larger groups difficult which is why we keep our groups small. We can look back over the last year with pride, seeing the difference learning opportunities have made to many people’s lives”.

Graham Razey, Deputy Principal of Sussex Coast College Hastings, said:

“BEST provides learning in the heart of the community and has brought together organisations to work together in real partnership, for the benefit of our learners and for Hastings and St Leonards as a whole”.

Andy Winter, Chief Executive of BHT, the charity which set up Finding Futures, said:

“It was an honour to show our Member of Parliament the difference Finding Futures is making in Hastings and St Leonards. He was also able to see how well the BEST partnership is working, and to hear first hand about BEST from our main partners, including Hastings Borough Council and the Sussex Coast College Hastings”.

Present at the celebration were Cllr Jeremy Birch, Sue Middlehurst, Principal of Sussex Coast College Hastings, and Ken Melsom MBE JP, Chairman of Governors at Sussex Coast College Hastings.