A hand up... How the Salvation Army are preparing for the future

Maff Potts, Director of Homelessness Services at The Salvation Army, explains why their new Lifehouses are giving people a ‘hand up’ rather than hand out and why the same should apply to funding charities.

This article was featured in the summer 2010 issue of CONNECT magazine (future-proofing issue).

At The Salvation Army we’re preparing for the future by transforming all of our hostels into Lifehouses. 

A Lifehouse is a place where everything is geared around residents developing purpose and relationships - accommodation just comes with it and isn't the focus. For instance, our partnership with "Goals UK" means self-esteem training will be standard. Also, through our Animateur programme which is funded by the Future Jobs Fund, we employ young people from the job centre to organise fun activities and community projects which benefit the local area as well as the residents of the Lifehouse. 

The aim of our Lifehouses is to help residents find purpose and, ultimately, to get their life back. The name ‘Lifehouse’ was chosen by our residents and staff, in a nationwide poll, and it tells us that they understand that the work of a homelessness centre is driven by life journeys and not just journeys into housing. 

The new focus of our services echoes the Salvation Army’s belief in giving people a ‘hand up’ rather than a ‘hand out’. Back in 1865 when William Booth founded The Salvation Army he was quoted as describing how the support he was providing to an individual was a two way exchange, “so much warmth and light from me but so much labour in return from him”. We weren’t about hand-outs then and we aren’t now. 

In many ways the spirit of the lifehouse is not just taking us back to Booth’s core principles but also back to the work of charities before Supporting People (SP) was introduced. Don’t get me wrong, the SP programme has had a huge impact in raising the quality of homelessness services but, in some senses, it’s inadvertently created an entitlement culture where we’ve forgotten some of our core values. We now just expect SP funding and a vast percentage of providers rely almost entirely upon it. 

We need to think creatively and accept that budgets will be cut and funding will be harder to come by but we must not let this get in our way. A prime example is our Lifehouse in Skegness, Witham Lodge, which used to face a tremendous amount of opposition from the local community. Now, however, the same people who called for our closure are walking into the Lifehouse and asking for help.

Why? Because our residents are decorating houses for people with disabilities; helping older people with their gardening and developing projects that benefit the whole community. To fund these activities staff and clients held car boot sales and raised the money themselves. Remember those days? 

We’re entering a new era of austerity and it may just be the wake up call that reminds us of why we’re here… Charities need to fill the gap and help those with no recourse to public funds - it's our job when there's no state funding isn't it? And fun activities are always hard to fund, so again, that's our job. We need to get out of the mid-set of being just government sub-contractors. After all, we are more than a support service, we are social entrepreneurs. 

*In mid October 2010, Maff Potts will be leaving the Salvation Army to take up the role of Chief Executive at Novas Scarman.

Case Study

Craig Hilton is a former resident at Salvation Army’s Swan Lodge, which now employs him as a full-time Project Worker. His hard work and determination were recognised recently when he was awarded the Salvation Army’s national Individual Contribution Award.

“Like many homeless people I’ve met, my life declined rapidly following a relationship breakdown... A combination of depression, anxiety, financial stress and addiction led me to becoming homeless.

When I first walked into Swan Lodge, the Lifehouse in Sunderland, I had my own ideas and false stereotypes of what I imagined a hostel to be like. I was greeted with a smiling face and soon came to realise that through support and encouragement I had an amazing opportunity to finally do something different with my life. 

I was introduced to practical skills courses, including a course on parenting, and training in literacy, numeracy and ICT. I also had the opportunity to get involved in a variety of activities, such as a sport and wellbeing programme, and volunteer with local community projects. All of this was offered internally but Swan Lodge also works with the Future Jobs Fund to provide employment opportunities and with other providers to deliver drug and alcohol counselling and specialist training in areas such as construction and trade skills. 

Opportunity is there at every Lifehouse but taking that opportunity and making it work is the hardest step. That’s when you need the encouragement and empowerment the management and staff give you.  A pat on the back can mean far more than achieving a certificate. Having someone say well done or thank you can make all the difference… Many of the residents in Lifehouses have had little or none of that in their lives and a basic recognition of their efforts and achievements, no matter how small, can kick-start a change in the negative way they think about themselves.

Swan Lodge provided the opportunities to change and I grasped them. I started volunteering to help out in Swan Lodge and after completing a variety of educational courses I went to college to study teaching.  From there I studied Health and Social Care and Swan Lodge employed me as a part time as a relief project worker. In February I moved out of the Lifehouse but now work there full-time as a project worker; supporting residents with similar experiences to my own.  

Opportunity knocks for those that grasp it.  Spiritually I have grown and as a father to my children, I have grown as a man. I can now look in the mirror and smile because I see the man that my own father always knew I could be." 

Find out more

For further information visit the homelessness section on the Salvation Army's website.