Turning Tides: Winner – The Sussex Business Community Award

Turning Tides is the largest provider of homeless services for single adults throughout West Sussex. For over 28 years, the charity has supported thousands of homeless men and women, including people who are forced to sleep rough. Almost 90% of those they support are local. Currently, they run 21 properties in various locations across the county, offering a broad range of housing and specialist support to help people rebuild their lives.

At the very core of Turning Tides’ ethos is the belief that everyone has the right to a home, regardless of the difficulties they may face in their lives. They work to empower homeless and insecurely housed individuals throughout every step of their journey, from outreach and community hubs to specialist multi-disciplinary teams in-house.

Turning Tides are constantly developing and enhancing services not only to meet the ever-increasing rise in homelessness but also to ensure they meet the diverse needs of their clients.

2020 has been an extremely challenging year for the charity and this is set to continue. They are facing significantly increased need for their services as rising numbers of people lose their homes due to the economic impact of COVID-19. The pandemic has also brought some more hopeful changes. The largest of these being in March last year when the Government’s ‘Everyone In’ initiative opened the doors of hotels and B&Bs to men and women who had nowhere to live to protect them from the spread of the virus. This brief, but truly historic moment, all but ended homelessness. This was made possible thanks to the dedication of frontline workers across Sussex. Partnership working across sectors was also fundamental as everyone rallied to keep people safe in their communities.

‘Everyone In’ ended in July 2020 and since then Turning Tides have continued to house many people in their own services – which are now stretched to the limit. As the virus grips even more tenaciously at the beginning of 2021, the Government have just announced a second ‘Everyone In’ to ensure that no one is sleeping rough. However, this will be temporary, as with the first.

COVID-19 continues to accelerate financial hardship, relationship breakdown and mental health struggles, all of which contribute to homelessness. At the end of 2020, local councils reported a doubling of people becoming homeless. Even without the threat of a deadly virus, homeless people die on average 30 years sooner than the general population.

2020 saw a number of vital fundraising initiatives from the charity to meet the increasing demands for their services. The charity are particularly grateful for the overwhelming support of a Worthing fundraiser Phil Heckles, aka Hercule van Wolfwinkle – whose ‘Pet Portraits’ on Facebook have raised almost £50K and attracted media attention from all over the world.

At Christmas, Turning Tides launched their ‘Christmas is Not Cancelled’ appeal and Ben, a client who supported the charity’s appeal, bravely shared his story:

“I was made homeless after a difficult relationship breakdown. Pride got the better of me and I just couldn’t ask my family and friends for help…. when it got cold, I slept by the heaters in the car park next to the bowling alley. When you live on the streets, you just can’t see how you are going to do anything else with your life. It takes everything out of you to just survive and you lose hope of achieving anything else”.

After 5 years of living on the streets, Ben was offered a room in one of Turning Tides’ accommodation:

“It was the first time in a very long time that I felt safe and had a reason for living. Having an address and my own room gave me both security and head space to start thinking about the possibility of a future.”

Ben provided a stark reminder COVID-19 is only one of the threats you experience whilst living on the streets:

“We are used to long periods of boredom and hopelessness, to high levels of stress and even dealing regularly with the possibility of dying. I know of many people who have died on the streets but, fortunately, no one who has died of COVID yet.”

Despite everything, Ben remains positive; “I feel incredibly lucky to have a home in a community of people who support this charity – a charity that has helped to turn my life around.”

There are still enormous challenges on the horizon but the charity has undeniably risen to the hugest challenge in their 28 year history – COVID-19. With ongoing support from the community they hope one day they will be able to end local homelessness for good.

To find out more about the work of Turning Tides across West Sussex and to read Ben’s story in full or to donate, visit: www.turning-tides.org.uk