What we do
The services we provide allow us to impact our clientsโ lives in the way they need support with the intention of re-integrating them into society or re-unifying them with their families.
We provide homeless adults, most of whom are living on the street, and people at risk of being homeless with access to
- daily ablutions, toilet and laundry facilities
- nutritional meals, directly and through partnerships with other NPOs
- social work services
- monthly healthcare wellness and screening clinic
- vocational and life skills training in partnership with 3rd parties
- short term second phase accommodation
By providing these services we create touch points of contact with people to: access their circumstances; gain insight into the number of people in need; and get to start a conversation with them to help them get off the street or get help with other problems like drug addiction, abuse, mental illness, or even just access to a computer.
Daily ablutions and laundry facilities.
Having a safe place to shower and wash their clothing is a service critically required by those living on the street, giving them some kind of self-respect. Lack of access to these facilities results in poor hygiene and further marginalization, rendering them less able to find work or access other much-needed services.
Daily meals.
In association with our partners everyone who comes for a shower gets a meal token for lunch from The Service dining room, lunch on Saturdays served by Ladles of Love and Sundays by RPJ Helping Hands as well as a warm bowl of porridge on Thursdays. We serve breakfast on Wednesdays.
Social care through trained social workers.
Of critical importance is the availability of trained social workers who are on hand to assist clients with any problems. The social workersโ presence is important as it is often the first intervention to help getting individuals off the street, reintegrated into their own communities and reunited with their families. For many, the showers represent their first point of entry to social worker assistance and to prepare the person to move into a shelter and off the streets.
Monthly healthcare wellness and screening clinic
Every last Tuesday of the month two nurses from St John’s Ambulance, specialising in homeless care, attend to our clients’ medical needs. They perform blood pressure tests, advise on nutrition, prescribe and give basic medication and refer more serious cases to the local hospital. On average they see about 100 patients during these mornings. Once the patient received the check-up, they receive a food token as well.
Vocational and life skills training
Short term second phase shelter.
Geoff Burton House (GBH) is a second-phase shelter of The Hope Exchange (THE) that ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป for a limited period only to ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ male adults ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐๐น๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ธ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ and who are committed to leading an independent and healthy lifestyle and ๐๐ต๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ/๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ป๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป with their families of origin.
GBH accommodates 40 men who have found employment with sober habits and who can afford to pay programme fees in advance which includes accommodation, mandatory psychosocial care sessions with the social work team, assistance with developing a personal development plan and savings plan whilst they are housed affordably, safely and comfortably in shared rooms while they are finding their feet and looking for a home of their own as they gear towards independent living. Clients that do not meet the criteria are able to use services for a referral to a first phase shelter.
