Over the winter months The Wellspring staff team will be providing lots of Outreach services directly on to the streets of Stockport and Manchester. The aim of this work is to engage homeless people with support services. On Sunday 4th December The Wellspring will host The Rucksack Project 2016. This encourages people to donate practical…
Stockport Express update 23-11-16
Stockport Express Update 23-11-16 Jonathan Billings Project Manager The Wellspring. The governments Homelessness Reduction Bill is welcome news to us at The Wellspring. If the bill becomes law then local authority’s will have a duty to provide people with advice and services when they are at risk of becoming homeless. Preventing homelessness…
Lie down and be counted
We had some very welcome news this week from Stockport Homes as they have now started to provide Cold Weather Provision for anyone who is currently sleeping rough. This means that almost anyone, regardless of their circumstances or situation will be provided with somewhere safe and warm to sleep at night. But only if…
Illegal Highs
All New Psychoactive Substances are now illegal to be sold or produced in the UK. This is welcome news and a step in the right direction. However these drugs are going nowhere fast and they will continue to cause havoc to the lives of homeless and disadvantaged people. Everyone has known for many months that…
The changing face of homelessness
Homelessness is by its very nature a complex challenging issue. Each and every case that I come across tends to be different and presents different challenges. If you asked Joe Public in the street what thier idea of a homeless person is they would probably describe an older male, unkempt and unshaven. This is far from fact….
One Bad Apple.
Does one bad apple really spoil the bunch? Yes in my experience is does. For many years I’ve built and developed the service that I manage, yes I’ve had lots of help and support along the way, at times lots of support and at others not so much! From day one with nothing more than…
Its not rocket salad……..
Sometimes homelessness and some issues that are associated with homelessness can be addressed by very simple things. I’ve met hundreds of homeless people whose situation and circumstances have been turned around by very basic pieces of support work. I would say that 90% of all homeless people I have ever met have been supported…
The girl who cried wolf
Vulnerable people are often forced into situations that feed upon their vulnerability, they make poor lifestyle choices that often lead to them suffering abuse. Because of the poor choices that these people make, their vulnerability increases and they can end up in some very disturbing situations. Recently a vulnerable young lady i know reasonably…
Bite the bullet.
Bite the bullet. At times I feel flooded by ideas and often spend hours mulling these ideas over and over and over. A time will come when I feel I’m on to a good idea and I make that leap and actually put the idea in to practice. This over the years has led to…
If at first you don’t succeed….
Keeping motivated and focused on being productive with challenging people is incredibly difficult. it can be frustrating when you don’t seem to be making any progress with a person you are trying to support, i guess we have a picture in our mind of how we would like that support to go and when reality…
Is the Health Service Mental?
Mental Health services in Stockport have suffered funding cuts over the last few years, with more cuts likely to be in the post. Cutting these essential services is just plain mental. This morning a man in his 30’s presented as homeless at The Wellspring, this is someone we have worked with in the past so…
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