Flowers For The Titanic and The Whitechapel

Starting on Friday 20th April, through to Sunday 22nd of April, a number of flowers displays were arranged at St Francis Xavier's Church, Langsdale Street, Everton to commemorate the sinking of the Titanic.

As the parish administrator of SFX, Brother Ken Vance, is one of our dedicated team of trustees, we have very close links with the church, and as such The Whitechapel Centre was given the honour of arranging a display.


Five of our service users, along with two of our art teachers, Joan and Carol, arranged some beautiful displays that were then placed at the end of the pews.

Along with the flower displays various other items from that period, photos, and titanic memorabilia were displayed.

A young, soon to be Jesuit Priest, Francis Browne, had been on the first part of the Titanic's journey from Southampton to Ireland, and had taken many photographs of the ship that were used in the display. The only reason that he hadn't remained aboard was because his order had forbade him, perhaps divine intervention?

 Something Francis may have worn

There were many beautiful displays throughout the church, and various concerts talks were given throughout the weekend to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

For those service users from The Whitechapel that took part it provided a wonderful opportunity to show their creativity, and to display their work for others to enjoy.

One of our regular art teachers aiding with the presentation of The Whitehchapel Centre's display.

Kelly from The Whitechapel Centre with her beautiful display.












The whole weekend was extermely successful, with the church being full throughout the three days. It was a wonderful way to remember the many lives that had been lost all those years ago.

Cold Weather Shelter 2011-12 - THE RESULTS!

The Whitechapel centre is asked each year by Liverpool City Council to organise a cold weather provision for rough sleepers, beginning at the start of December, and finishing on the 1^st of April.

The provision consists of two tiers;

Tier 1 is a night shelter which is based at St Stephen's church on Crown Street in Liverpool 8. The shelter opened when the predictive weather forecast indicated that the temperature will hit 0° or below for three consecutive nights.

 As well as having a warm safe place to spend the night, rough sleepers who present there are provided with hot soup and other refreshments.

Tier 2 consists of a dedicated staff team providing support for people who have accessed the night shelter with the aim of finding solutions for there homelessness. This is achieved by assessing people’s needs and liaising with housing providers such as hostels and private landlords to provide solutions.

This year the night shelter has been open for 13 nights and we have found solutions for 40 people. Many of these people are from socially excluded groups and have complex needs, and without the cold weather provision they could have been faced with spending the cold winter months sleeping rough.

This is a fabulous achievement, a real success for Paul and his team, who worked long hours in order to get such great results.

For more information on our Cold Weather Service, or any of the other services that we provide, please see our website at: http://www.whitechapelcentre.co.uk/

Get Ready! The Story So Far....

The Get Ready! Programme aims to give homeless indivdiuals a head start into starting to think about employment.

So far 62 people have signed up to the program, 48 of those have been inducted and supported onto the intial assement.

16 of those people have comleted 4 or more of the BITC courses that have been running, recieving a certificate at the end of each course.

We hope that most of those who have joined will go on to join the Ready For Work course at the end of it.

Above all, those that have taken part so far have thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and have made a great impression on the companies involved, and us here at The Whitechapel Centre.

For more information please contact Pauline Baysan, Cath Brown or Julie Prendergast on 0151 207 7617

For more information on services at The Whitechapel Centre please go to our website http://www.whitechapelcentre.co.uk

Get Ready!! Job Success Already?

Money Skills Workshop leads to Job Opportunity!

Today 16 Whitechapel service users attended a Money Skills workshop today at the Lord Street Branch of Barclays Bank. 

The course ran as part of the Get Ready! Programme which aims to give homeless indivdiuals the confidence and motivation to think about moving into work. 

 The participants covered a wide range of issues during the 2 hour session including how to set up a bank account and understanding banking terms. 

At the end of the session one of the participants had particularly impressed the Barclays staff and was invited to apply for a vacancy.

Barclays staff commented on the enthusiasm and commitment of the group and a fantastic morning was had by all. 

A Packed Room at Barclays

Barclays Staff Leading a Group Session

Certificates were awarded at the end of the session



Further Get Ready! Sessions are planned throughout April and May and many of the participants will move on to a Ready for Work Programme on completion of the course.

For more information on services available please see our website at: http://www.whitechapelcentre.co.uk/

No Second Night Out - N2NO - Latest News

Liverpool City Region’s Rough Sleeper help line has just received its 100^th call – and as a result successfully found accommodation for a gentleman who would have otherwise spent a night on the streets.  He had become homeless because he had lost his job, exhausted all his options of with staying with friends and when he asked an agency for help, they phoned the helpline.

The help line was officially launched on 2 Feb 2012 and offers members of the public a single point of access across the six council’s of Liverpool City Region (Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helen’s and Wirral) to inform agencies about rough sleepers.  Once the call is taken outreach workers are dispatched as soon as possible to visit the site, make contact with the rough sleeper and help them find somewhere to stay. Calls have been coming in from across the boroughs and while the majority of reports are from concerned members of the public, calls have also been received from family members, the police, other homeless agencies and even rough sleepers themselves.

Each case is unique and a whole range of options are offered to individuals who find themselves sleeping out, for example:

Mike (not real name) and his partner had been sleeping in a Liverpool park after they lost their home.  Mike’s mum rang the line to ask for advice and, after a visit to The Whitechapel Centre, they were helped to move into their own flat.

Viktor (not real name) had been working in England but lost his job and ended up on the streets.  He was assaulted and was seen sitting in a door way on Bold Street by a member of the public.  Viktor was picked up by the outreach team and taken back to The Whitechapel Centre.  Staff were able to liaise with Viktor’s family and help him to return home.

Help us to help a rough sleeper by phoning the helpline 0300 123 2041 as soon as you see someone sleeping rough.

Like our Face book page: http://www.facebook.com/nosecondnightoutmerseyside

For more information please go to: http://www.nosecondnightoutmerseyside.co.uk/

Get Ready! Drop In Day..

This coming Monday 26th March, 1pm to 3pm is our Get Ready! drop in day at The Enablement Centre, Langsdale Street.


Do any of the following apply to you?

þ  Never had a job or been out of work for a long time?

þ  Not sure if you’re confident enough or quite ready yet?

þ  Scared of losing benefits if things don’t work out?

þ  No chance of a reference? Petrified of interviews?

If this is the case the Get Ready! program could be just what you need to change your future.

Our Get Ready! team will be available for you to speak to, and can give you all the information that you need, remember, there is no obligation to sign up.

If you do take advantage of this great opportunity there will be lots of different activities made available to you, and a chance to meet and make new friends.

You can pick and choose from a whole host of fun events which take place between March and June 2012 including:

·        Tour of Everton Football Club

·        Introduction to IT

·        Introduction to the world of banking with Barclays

·        Help your local Community Centre at Kensington Fields

Come along and get stuck in!  Build your confidence, meet new people, find out more about the world of work from top employers.

 Get Ready! members taking part in a painting event to help the community.

If you are interested please call Pauline, Cath or Julie on 0151 207 8617, why not give it a go?

For more information on services at The Whitechapel Centre please go to our website http://www.whitechapelcentre.co.uk/

John Bishop Meets Whitechapel FC for BT's Sport Relief

As promised, here are a few photos from John Bishop's visit to The Whitechapel Centre football team's training session. John visited the team as part of the lead up to his 'Week From Hell' which he completed a couple of weeks ago.


The Whitechapel Centre Football Team
sponsored by Everton Football Club (from left, Dennis, John, Sean, Dave, Danny)

 The 45-year-old cycled, rowed and ran from Paris to Trafalgar Square, covering more than 290 miles in five days, and finished to the strains of Liverpool anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.
He battled exhaustion, severe aches and pains, sickness and sleep deprivation. His final stint was almost unbearable after being diagnosed with acute shin splints. His trip has raised more than £1.6m through the BT Sport Relief
Challenge.
During his visit he spent a good 2 hours with the team chatting to them and training and even joined in on a few games! He was so impressed with all the lads and what the Liverpool Homeless Football Club achieves  that he is considering being it's patron . Liverpool Homeless Football Club are now in their fifth season with a growing number of teams each year. The club organises a regular football league for homeless people, helping improve their confidence, self esteem and physical and mental health.



John with our Enablement Centre Manager, Sheila McCormack

 The Whitechapel Centre's team are now 2nd in the league!

If you would like any more information about The Whitechapel Centre and the work we do please visit http://www.whitechapelcentre.co.uk/ .
For more about Liverpool Homeless Football Club www.liverpoolhomelessfootballclub.com or follow them on Twitter @LivHomelessFC.

John Bishop's journey will be shown tonight on BBC1 at 9pm.

Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/corinthian/2012/03/03/corinthian-liverpool-homeless-football-club-working-wonders-100252-30448098/#ixzz1pfipw8Rg

  

Who loves their team??
We know John loves LFC but doubt he beat our goal keeper Sean's Everton tatoo!