For about 1/3 of the people we support, their relationship with us begins with our outreach team. Our daytime Street Engagement Team provides a proactive response to the issues of rough sleeping in Westminster.

Our dedicated Street Engagement Advisors go out in pairs during shifts, which take place between 7am and 7pm

Where we go in our outreach shifts is guided by referrals we receive from the local community and our knowledge of rough sleeping across the borough.

Our Advisors take time to carefully establish and develop trusting relationships with clients on the street – where we find them. We focus on their priorities, not our own, and work at their pace.

The people we talk to are often experiencing trauma or have been let down by services, family or friends. Our experience has taught us that it is often a long and complex process to build up the rapport and trust we need to be able to work effectively with each individual. But with stick with people no matter what as they face on their journey home.

If you are concerned about someone sleeping rough or are rough sleeping yourself, you can always contact StreetLink online.

StreetLink connects rough sleepers to services in their local area.

At our day centre on Adelaide Street, we offer a range of short-term support and advice which enables people to leave the streets run by our core services team.

This includes:

Access to hot meals;

showers;

laundry;

computers;

spaces to relax and more.

On Wednesday mornings, we run a women-only space to provide much-needed support to people often left out of mainstream services. Here, we run activities aimed at helping women feel safe and relaxed, sometimes for the first time in years.

On Wednesday afternoon, this space shifts into our Prescription Clinic. This is a flexible drop-in service that offers rapid prescriptions for people who require drug and alcohol treatment but struggle to turn make formal appointments. Last year, 92 people were supported by this service.

After some time using our basic support services, people may begin forming a trusting relationship with The Connection’s volunteers and staff.

Once this trust forms, people are more likely to accept in-depth support, this means working with our community and casework teams.

Our Community team deliver our community service.

This includes

Access to our groups and activities;

employment support;

benefits and financial advice;

help reconnecting with family and more.

Our groups include taking part in gardening, mindfulness, talking groups and creative writing but they vary based on client demand.

We also have opportunities to improve a person’s skills and confidence. This can mean training, volunteering and activities which aim to improve access to work – moving people towards integrating into the community.

We aim to co-produce these services and listen to the people we support at every stage.

Additionally, our Enhanced Support team offers person-led support to people with the most complex needs. These needs may take a long time to understand and respond to but we stick with people on their journey, no matter how long it takes.

Our Resettlement teams works intensively with people sleeping rough to find accommodation and be able to maintain themselves there.

This includes:

Referrals into accommodation, including supported housing and the private rented sector

Travel support for people to attend appointments for accommodation, jobs or training, for medical or legal help, or to reconnect with family and friends

Helping clients settle into accommodation by providing necessities like bedding and kitchen equipment, providing vouchers and/ or supporting them to complete grant applications.

We also operate St Martin’s House which supports 16 women a year who need some extra help maintaining a tenancy and provides accommodation for up to two years as a stepping stone to a more permanent housing solution. This is more than an accommodation block, wraparound support is available on-site too.