Day in the life of Harp's angels

I have joined Peter Reed and June Dudley on their regular street patrol looking for rough sleepers.

Both Peter and June see their early start as a chance to make contact with those who have spent the night outside.

“Sometimes we may find up to five people, other times just one or two,” says Peter who is service operations manager for the charity.

“Many are known to us, but often at this time of year we find new people who have come down from London for the summer.

“Obviously it’s a lot more pleasant on a morning like this than when the wind is howling and there is ice on the ground,” he laughs.

Our patrol takes us from Harp’s night shelter in York Road, along Hamlet Court Road, where the shop fronts offer some respite from the elements, then down along the seafront from Chalkwell right through to Thorpe Bay.

The aim of the patrol is to make contact with rough sleepers, offer them a hot drink and invite them to come to Harp’s day centre in Valkyrie Road, where they will be given breakfast and have the chance to shower and change their clothes.

As we head along the seafront near Rossi’s ice cream parlour, we meet Ray who has spent the night on a bench in an alcove by the toilets.

At first he is very wary of us, refusing a cup of tea in favour of the open can of beer he is holding.

But June reassures him of our intentions and invites him to the day centre.

Having gained his confidence, Ray reveals he arrived in Southend from London the previous day as he needed to get away from things.

Peter says “drinkers”, as he calls those with alcohol dependency, are often the most difficult people to help.

Leaving Ray to his liquid breakfast, we continue our patrol, heading into the main town centre, where we pass a young couple walking in the street who look as if they have slept rough.

The girl is visibly pregnant and they do not make eye contact.

Peter and June do not approach them, but when we later get back to the night shelter, we find them outside having a cup of tea. They are homeless and have come to the shelter in desperation.

At York Road up to 14 short-term beds in eight bedrooms are available for those who would otherwise be forced to sleep rough, providing shelter, food and other essential facilities.

But each resident is carefully vetted and assessed at the day centre before being offered a bed. While those who turn up unannounced are often given food and drink, they are redirected to the day centre rather than being invited in, as the shelter is manned overnight by a security guard rather than charity staff.

We arrive back at 9am as the previous night’s residents are leaving. They must leave by that time, but can return at 6pm if they are still in need of a bed.

My next task of the day is to accompany Doreen Pujol, who manages at Harp’s Ceylon Road centre in Westcliff, where there are six beds. The residents here may have more challenging needs such as drug dependency.

Doreen also provides outreach help to those who have moved on into their own accommodation.

We go to visit a 72-year-old man who is now in sheltered accommodation.

The man’s story is all too typical according to Doreen.

Having spent years in both the Army and the Navy, civilian life was not easy and, following the death of his parents, he suffered a nervous breakdown. The family home was repossessed and he was made homeless.

“We see a lot of people who have been in the Forces who find it hard to adapt to life outside,” explains Doreen. “The Army might teach them a lot of things, but basic life skills isn’t often one of them.”

We arrive at the project’s day centre in Valkyrie Road, Westcliff, which provides a hot meal and refuge.

It is primarily for those in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation. With more than 20,000 visitors a year, there are a lot of mouths to feed.

Here my first job is to help unload a van full of bread and cakes.

Two years ago the Bakers Oven donated a van to the charity to enable it to deliver food to those in need.

It also donates any stock of bread and cakes left over at the end of the day, from each of its local shops.

The bread feeds those at the day centre, night shelter and Ceylon Road, as well as providing emergency food rations for those who have been helped into their own accommodation.

The homeless service is run by paid staff with the support of volunteers. A major source of funding comes from Southend Council, as well as grants and trusts from local churches, organisations and individuals. However, Harp receives no funding to supply food for those it helps and relies on donations.

In the past it has been able to provide food parcels for those who come to the day centre, but that service has had to be withdrawn as their food stocks have run low, leaving just enough to make a hot meal each day at the centre and a meal each night for the 14 night shelter residents.

On the menu today is lasagne, which is being prepared by volunteers.

Peter explains: “We make up to 20 hot meals a day, usually for people who have been placed in temporary bed and breakfast accommodation. They often cannot stay there during the day and have no where else to go.”

Peter admits in the past the charity concentrated mainly on supplying short term support for people, but now looks much more at helping people back into accommodation and getting their life back on track.

“People can be homeless for any number of reasons,” he explains, “through mental illness, the collapse of a relationship, losing their job. They then get in this spiral which can be very hard to escape.”

One way the charity is helping people get back on their feet and raise funds is by opening a charity shop in London Road, Westcliff, which Doreen and I visit where preparations for opening are in full swing.

The store will sell donated furniture, clothes and other items and will be run by volunteers, the majority of whom are those the charity has helped.

“It will help bridge the gap for them getting back into work, and build confidence,” Doreen explains.

The next part of my day is spent with Diane Ainslie and Dave Needham, who manage the Acorn housing project.

The scheme was set up by local churches, but Harp took over its management six months ago.

The project manages 42 bed- sits where residents can stay for up to two years.

Diane says: “Many of our clients are young people aged between 16 and 25. Most people become homeless due to a family breakdown. Our job is to help them on their first step to independent living.”

The project also provides training courses to help people run a home.

“For a 16 year-old who has been thrown out of home because their parent no longer wants them, the prospect of living on their own is a scary one,” adds Diane.

My final visit takes me back to the night shelter.

Here the residents, who can stay for up to two weeks, are returning for the night and are preparing a meal. The shelter operates a rota system and the residents take it in turn to cook.

Debra Perry and Mike Relton are support workers who are on hand until 9pm to help with advice and support for the residents until the overnight security guard takes over.

Two new arrivals are expected that evening, and must be booked in. They have already been assessed by Debra at the day centre earlier, but must sign in and agree to abide by the conditions of the shelter which include no drink or drugs on the premises.

“We have to ensure the safety of the other residents, as well as our own staff,” says Debra.

As with all the facets of the charity I have witnessed during the day, the staff are cheerful, friendly and have a great sense of humour, despite dealing with difficult situations and often difficult people.

“You have to have a sense of humour to work here,” says Peter, “and often the clients we work with, despite their situation are real characters. As you have seen there is never a dull moment. Even if we only turn one life around today – that for me will have been worth it.”

WHEN I first met Paul he was in conversation with a support worker at the Harp day centre talking about an allotment project he is helping to run.

I assumed he was a volunteer or support worker for the charity.

Later that day at the charity’s hostel in Ceylon Road, Westcliff, I met Paul again.

The six-room hostel provides rehabilitation accommodation for clients who are undergoing treatment for drug or alcohol addiction.

The hostel is run in partnership with Southend Drug and Alcohol Team and residents must adhere to a strict programme to tackle their addiction.

Paul has been living there for eight months and has tackled the drinking addiction that led him to become homeless.

At 37 we are the same age, and his story shakes any preconceptions I may have about people who become homeless.

“I was a chef,” he explains. “I worked long hours. I used to relax by drinking and the industry I was in meant it was a very acceptable and sociable end to a shift.”

But as split shifts and the stress of working long hours took their toll, Paul began to drink more and more.

Eventually he lost his job. When the relationship he was in ended he had no where to go.

“The first night I slept out I was so scared,” he admits.

“I tried to find somewhere to sleep where nobody would find me or see me. I felt ashamed.”

While living on the street Paul was beaten up by a group of men who accused him of being a drug addict.

Eventually he moved into an illegal squat with other rough sleepers, but this compounded his problems.

“It was a continuing cycle,” he says. “Whoever had money from benefits would take it in turn to buy the drink, or we would steal.”

At rock bottom, when one of his fellow rough sleepers burnt the squat to the ground, Paul contemplated suicide.

But a chance encounter with a support worker from Harp gave him a much-needed ray of hope.

Eight months on and Paul is rebuilding his life.

“I have been dry for the past seven months,” he proudly admits. “I am looking to move out of here to my own place.”

With a new home on the horizon, and plans to start his own gardening business thanks to his work at the Harp allotment project, Paul says the charity saved his life.

“They have given me hope for the future, which really is the greatest thing you can give someone,” he says.