GROWTH SHELTER
"Hospitality was outstanding. The food was amazing, every night was something different"
At GrowTH , we use a communal rotating model for our night shelter. This means that the Shelter alternates each night around our different churches, as they open their doors to our Guests and show them hospitality. Guests can access the shelter at 7.30pm and will receive a hot evening meal, a warm bed, and a hot breakfast before leaving at 9am the next day. They can then head to our new Day Centre to spend time there throughout the day. The shelter runs for the 7 coldest months of the year; from October to April.
Typically we will host between 130-150 different guests each season, of many different nationalities, faiths and backgrounds. Each Guest is offered a 28 night stay whilst we work on their case and give them the support they need. The need is very much still there.
Guests are referred to GrowTH by Tower Hamlets based referral agencies, such as day centres like Crisis Skylight, Whitechapel Mission, Praxis, and a local homeless GP surgery. As well as the wonderful support and love given by our volunteers; Guests also receive resettlement help from our employed Advocate Workers, with a focus on securing more permanent accommodation. In this past season, in partnership with our referral agencies, we supported 57% of our Guests into positive move-ons.
GrowTH offers a holistic response to homelessness, and so opportunities are provided to guests to take part in short Bible studies, to receive prayer, or to simply chat about faith and the big questions in life. Many choose to engage, although of course, this is always optional.
GROWTH SEASON 2024-25
GrowTH facilitates the churches to provide hospitality and care to those in crisis. And although the GrowTH staff team manage the referrals and oversee the running of the shelter, the churches do much of the legwork. They open their doors, assemble teams of volunteers, and provide a warm welcome, hot meals, and a clean bed for our guests. It’s a huge task, involving well over 1,000 people over the past decade, and close to 100,000 volunteer hours. We are so pleased that more churches have joined this mission each year since we began.
It is a privilege to work with all our partner Churches including:
Resettlement
Our vision is to see guests’ lives transformed. Practically, this looks like breaking the cycle of homelessness. Each guest in the night shelter is allocated an employed Advocate Worker. These workers ‘get alongside’ the guests, aim to understand why they are homeless, and work with them to help them access the most appropriate available support and accommodation. This process can include:
Establishing benefit claims
Sourcing immigration advice
Acquiring new forms of identification
Accessing substance misuse support
Accessing mental health services
Typical permanent accommodation options include: Shared supported housing, hostels, a flat in the private-rented sector, rehabilitation centres, returning to family either in the UK or abroad and accommodation for asylum seekers.