One could
be forgiven for thinking that all is well in middle England and that
homelessness in a prosperous town like Bishops Stortford isn't an issue.
Well, for Norma Symonds it's a burning issue and the seventy plus people
she has helped on a regular basis since setting up the Stortford Outreach
And Resettlement twenty months ago can certainly give testimony for
the need for such a service.
Any visitor
to the King’s Arms* in Bishop Stortford will normally be greeted
by that fatal aroma, to any would-be vegetarian at least, of sizzling
bacon, clicking pool balls, and the constant shrill of the telephone.
On average there are around twenty people using the project on a daily
basis. It tends to get a bit busier in the late afternoon when a local
baker kindly donates freshly baked bread and pastries that are surplus.
Norma,
unpaid, with her small band of volunteers, opens up four days a week
and has helped to create a safe, welcoming and caring atmosphere where
young homeless people and the disaffected can come and get some food,
warmth, and non-judgemental help and advice with benefits applications,
community care grants, doctor's appointments, guidance with solicitors
etc. Not only is Norma an advocate for young people, she's a surrogate
mum in the real sense, and often her sofa accommodates a homeless person,
for a few nights at least.
The SOAR
project is the only such place in Stortford where the homeless can receive
such a diverse range of support, yet it survives on a shoe-string budget,
receiving handouts from local churches, individuals and some support
from East Hertfordshire Council. Often, those that seek out Norma have
little trust in Social Services and the statutory sector; they lead
chaotic lifestyles, unstructured and unsupported, often not knowing
where their next meal will come from, let alone where they will spend
the night. It's a stark contrast to the affluent neighbourhood that
surrounds the project.
Just a
few miles down the road is Stansted Airport, where more runways are
planned and a major investment in the road system is ongoing. As all
those holiday makers take off over the area, they will have little idea
of the plight of some below them. The cost of private accommodation
in the town has spiralled to such a level that private landlords are
reluctant to, and have no need to, rent to the 'benefits' sector as
private rents are more or less guaranteed and less hassle. There is
little 'social housing' and in comparison with the money being spent
on Stansted Airport and the road network, there is no real investment
in social housing, particularly for single homeless. The local YMCA
hostel has only nine beds.
SOAR is
evolving all the time and has the flexibility to adapt to the changing
needs of young, vulnerable, people. The youngsters that frequent the
King’s Arms present Norma and her helpers with a wide range of
issues,- not just homelessness, but pending court cases, drug and alcohol
abuse, mental health, learning difficulties and behavioural problems
as well, and to tackle all these issues Norma is aided by her small
team of volunteers and a psycho-therapist whom she has had to raise
funds for.
Most of
SOAR’s clients live on benefits, and Norma has been successful
in advocacy on their behalf. Some have no source of income at all and
no family support. They live wherever they can find someone who will
put them up, popping into the King’s Arms on a regular daily basis
to socialise, relax, and use the kitchen to cook food. The reasons for
their predicament are deep and complicated. Violence in the home, sexual
abuse, learning difficulties, rent arrears in previous accommodation,
alcohol and drugs all take their toll.
The overall
aim of SOAR is to support and help the youngsters for as long as they
need it. To help them settle into as independent a way of life as is
suitable to each individual, valuing each individual and providing a
caring Christian community. There have been many successes where with
SOAR’s help and encouragement youngsters have been found accommodation
through the Project’s contacts and interaction with local Government
Benefits Departments and Housing Associations. Some individuals have
returned to education or gone on to vocational training.
Hertfordshire
County Council nominates the SOAR project as the leading Christian agency
in the area making a positive difference to the lives of the people
who engage with it. Funding and staffing is definitely an issue for
the project as money is constantly needed to finance the office, telephone,
food bills and travelling costs.
In March
Norma received an award from the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire for her
services to the local community. Norma isn't in it for the accolades,
and definitely not for the money! Her whole existence evolves around
serving those 'on the streets'.
Frontier
Youth Trust involvement with SOAR has been to support Norma as best
we can, recognizing her total commitment and dedication, and recently
to organise a residential trip for several SOAR clients to Fellowship
Afloat Charitable Trust, where we stayed on board a converted lightship
and introduced them to another Christian community as well as engaging
in all the Centre’s activities. It was a great time, and a welcome
break from the pressures of their lives in Stortford, getting to know
one another better, learning to trust and accept each other, and it
was a good testimony to those that went that Christians do care and
are interested in taking positive action to assist them find a way through
life that raises their self-esteem and helps them find strategies for
coping in a world that seems to be passing over them.
* The King’s
Arms is a Christian Trust that uses an old public house for the purposes
of Christian outreach. The SOAR project is allowed use of the building
free of charge.
