A Cup of Positivi-TEA

Jody Sill, a PTS Coach at Nomad Opening Doors in Sheffield, explores the importance of meeting in places of purpose and re-balancing the power dynamics.

As somebody who has in the past been told that eating and drinking in front of people is unprofessional, I was relieved as an Asset Coach to be able to throw this instruction straight out of the window!

You see, there’s something very different about conversing over a hot drink in a café, compared with having a conversation in a hectic office surrounded by other people. Trying to have a realistic chat about a person’s dreams and aspirations is somewhat difficult when they are in a place that doesn’t really allow for it; such as in a shared food hall, where conversations such as this may be interrupted or shut down by others listening in.

I suppose what I am saying here is that it’s our responsibility as PTS Coaches to revolutionise, not only the conversations we have with people, but how and where we have these conversations. I believe a cup of tea is a wonderful way to begin.

Earl Grey tea with the spoon left in, six sugar cubes, a small drop of milk or a simple black coffee, no sugar. Everybody is different and has different tastes, and this is such an important thing to remember as an Asset Coach

By meeting people for a hot drink, they physically walk away from a place that might be negative, unwelcoming and restrictive on personal growth. Instead, they walk into a café like anybody else would, order a drink like anybody else would and the ball starts rolling from there. By taking people away from their accommodation, we aren’t necessarily taking people away from their problems; the idea is that we are taking people back into their community to have real world conversations.

The beauty of going out for a hot drink with somebody is that it gives them a wealth of choice. Which café would they prefer to visit? What drink would they like? Where are they most comfortable sitting? These are all tiny questions that can tell us so much about a person. One person I worked with didn’t want to visit a café when I asked her for the first time as she hated sitting still – so we used to meet on the swings at a local playground and have our sessions there. You could say a cup of tea was just not her cup of tea, and that was fine – flexibility and knowledge of the local area soon remedied this.

Something I feel that is important about going for a hot drink is that it reduces the power imbalance that can often be seen in between traditional support services and the people who use them. It’s just two people going for a drink in a local café – no lanyard, no huge wad of paper forms and no way for the public to identify anything other than two people having a good natter.

Between the first sip of that drink to the last, it’s possible that a person may have had a thought or made a decision that will positively influence their life forever.

It’s natural when a friend or family member is having a bad day to offer them something to drink as a way of reaching out. In my opinion, this offer should extend to the people we work with. It’s incredible how much people open up once they feel comfortable.

A meeting place such as a cosy café, teamed with a familiar beverage just oozes comfort. But as I mentioned before, this may not be everybody’s ideal meeting, place so be sure to ask those questions and find out what the person’s needs are and what you can do to meet them.

It’s not uncommon for people who use the Personal Transitions Service for the first time to be hesitant and a little unsure of our approach; starting a conversation that is focused on aspirations and dreams can be hard to do. My solution? Suggest getting a hot drink together; it’s a universal language that people can share.

Funnily enough, I spilt my cup of tea once on the first session with somebody I’d just met. It was certainly one way to unintentionally break the ice and ever since, we joke about who should hold the cups as we walk to the table. It was something so small, but it bonded us.

In another scenario someone I worked with liked her hot drink to be made in a specific fashion, otherwise she wouldn’t drink it. After meeting up after a 3-month gap, I remembered how she took her drink without needing to ask – a minor detail that meant a lot to her. She told me that this broke down her initial worry of us having to get to know each other again and we were able to pick up where we left off.

That offer of a Chai Latte without having to be reminded genuinely shows that you’ve listened to somebody and that you care.

The next time you meet up with that person who has been hard to get hold of, or you meet somebody new, think about where you’re meeting them and if they’re comfortable there. Not sure? Asking ‘Would you like to meet up and go for a hot chocolate together or would you like to meet somewhere else?’ gives somebody a choice, and choice is fundamentally at the heart of what we do as PTS Coaches.

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Expecting the best, rather than fearing the worst

PTS Coach, Andrew Durman reflects on the Person-led, Transitional and Strength-based (PTS) Response. Looking at the significance of a positive approach towards the individuals that coaches are lucky enough to work alongside and the importance of releasing control

Reflections on working in a different way as a PTS Coach for Mayday Trust

A recent conversation with someone I work alongside reinforced the importance of making a personal choice to approach our work in a strength-based and solutions-focused way. This I believe, has a direct impact on how we work alongside people, and how they respond to us as PTS Coaches.

It is an approach I totally agree with, although one I often have to remind myself of, challenge and reflect on. One of the hardest things can be watching someone make their own decisions, when in truth we may have done something differently ourselves. But trusting that the choice made, is right for the individual at the time is very important.

It is not our place as PTS Coaches to know what is best for an individual, instead, we influence and coach them in their decision making and control, with the hope that the decisions they do make will have a positive impact on their lives.

I was reminded of this very clearly with the individual I was working with, as not long ago I lost contact with him for 3 weeks. During our last meet up he had been very frustrated and feeling like he was on a knife-edge due to his own challenges, as well as his uncertain, unsettled and unsafe living conditions.

He felt that going back to prison would alleviate him of this and that it was a place that was safe. Unfortunately, this is something we hear quite often.

We explored alternatives and dug deeper into the reasoning behind those emotions, although I was left with the feeling that it could go either way.

However, I recently received an email from his probation worker, as he had requested that I was sent a new contact number for him and that he was looking forward to getting back in touch with me. He had changed his living conditions and location, making a difficult but crucial decision, resulting in a positive effect on his life. He had also secured a job, which he was due to start the following week. This was brilliant, as during that 3 week period I could not help feeling worried for him.

I had to fight that ‘fixing’ feeling and have faith that he would be okay. It turned out he was, and not just okay, he was thriving!

He is a very inspirational individual, as are many of the people I get to meet as a Coach. I would much rather expect the best from someone and be wrong, than expect the worst from someone and be right. This individual knew that I had 100% faith in him and through this he could build faith within himself.

Would he choose to meet me and allow me the privilege of being involved in his life, if he didn’t think that I had faith in him? No.

Does he talk of frustrations with other agencies expecting him to fail and re-offend? Yes. I don’t believe we can be effective in our coaching unless we are allowed and have permission from the person we’re working with to believe in them.

A clear sign of this permission within Mayday Trust and the PTS, is that individuals have a choice in whether they want to work with a PTS Coach and how they would like that coaching relationship to work, and importantly, there is no consequence of ‘not engaging’. The people we work alongside are far too often underestimated, especially by the ‘professionals’ working with them. A person can see right through us if we do not truly believe in them.

I believe as PTS Coaches, or in fact any professional working with people going through difficult periods in their lives, it helps to ask ourselves a few questions. Questions I reflect upon regularly.

Do I feel more satisfied when someone achieves something that I have not had much input in, or do I want to be involved in every step of that decision?
Do I genuinely believe that the person I am working alongside has the ability to be successful and happy?
Do I genuinely want the best for the individual and expect the best of them (this will show through in our work and there is no way to hide it)?
Am I happy to take a step back and allow the control and power to remain with the individual, even if I have doubts and fear the consequences?
Is it that doubt and fear that dictates whether I step in to fix the situation for that individual?
Is what I have done today allowed/empowered that individual, or have I taken control (despite it feeling like the right thing to do and with the best intentions in the world)?

One of the most important reasons why I love working as a PTS Coach with Mayday is the constant self-reflection, on ourselves and the PTS model. There is no room to get complacent, it constantly evaluates whether we are providing the right and best service possible.

I do not believe this should ever stop and does not only provide great service, but maintains our model and longevity within the sector. This ensures that Mayday moves with the times and that we are adaptable to whatever comes our way. This also means that we can continue working towards and influence system change.

This philosophy runs deep within Mayday Trust and the individuals delivering PTS, I am very fortunate to be able to count myself alongside them.

#SystemsChange

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Is it really just a hobby?

Asset Coach, Richard Boylan looks at the importance of something that is often seen as ‘just a hobby’ or ‘just an interest’ and how focusing on a person’s talents and interests can have life changing consequences.

Asset focused, strength based.. What does it all mean?

Mayday Trust and the Personal Transition Service is certainly gathering momentum and changing how people view the system. Strength based, asset focused, thriving not just surviving – but what does that all mean? How can focusing on someone’s talent, passion or hobby really change their lives? I can’t speak for others, but I can certainly tell you how it changed mine…

Surviving, but definitely not thriving

A few years after leaving school I started to reach the stage where I wasn’t really doing a great deal with my spare time. For someone who had been quite sporty at school, I felt as though I had lost some of my sporty physique and should really get back into shape, I had after all reached the grand old age of 19!

I went and tried out a few gyms, but they weren’t for me and I found myself becoming bored after a couple of weeks. On one afternoon, after yet another uninspiring gym session, I bumped into my dad who said he was off to a local Karate club, it sounded interesting so I agreed to join him on his next visit.

So, the following week I turned up in my psychedelic jogging bottoms and mullet, as was the fashion at the time – psychedelic jogging bottoms that is, not the mullet!

Being accepted and building connections

Straight away I felt relaxed, the other students there were friendly, as was the instructor and after the hour session they invited me to join them for a drink, which I eagerly accepted!

After leaving at the end of the night, I knew I would be returning the following week. This is how it went for the next couple of years. I trained hard 2 to 3 times a week, worked my way through the grades and gained new friends. It was at this stage that a couple of things happened.

Build on strengths, grow positive relationships and the rest will follow

I had another group of friends that I had known since leaving school and over the years we had started to travel down a path that wasn’t going to end well. Looking back, we were all young men and didn’t know who we were supposed to be, or our place in the world. We reached that ‘coming of age’ stage that young men do and felt that, in our own way we were failing. We had no self-esteem or self-worth and as a result we started to go off the rails.
But I had changed, I had grown as a person and gained some self-esteem and confidence. Some of this was down to the martial arts training, but mostly it was the new friends I had made. They were funny and supportive and genuinely liked me for who I was, this was new for me.

This acceptance allowed me to come out of my shell and I really liked the person that appeared! So, I made the decision to leave my old group of friends behind and over the next couple of months I saw them less and less, until I no longer saw them at all.

Time to thrive

The second thing that happened was my Karate instructor asked me if I wanted to teach some of the lower grades during the lessons. This was something that a couple of other students had done. I had never envisioned that I could teach, I didn’t have enough confidence, so I turned him down.

Twice more he asked if I fancied having a go at teaching and twice more I declined. It was then that he took me to the side and told me that he had watched me train over the last few years and felt it would be a good next step for me. He felt I would be good at it.

This was something completely new for me, I was around 21 years of age, living at home and working as a delivery driver, the thought of standing in front of a group of people and teaching was not something that I had ever imagined doing. But teach I did, my first lesson was a bit of a disaster and didn’t go well, so I sulked for a week or so. But I eventually got back on the horse and had another go, which went a lot better! Teaching then became a regular occurrence for me.

Gaining responsibilities and confidence

Another couple of years passed and I had now gained my black belt and was teaching at my instructor’s club on a regular basis. It was during this time that my instructor had to go away, the timing wasn’t great as it was just before the students next grading, but it was a family emergency. He left the club in my hands, let me make the decisions on who I felt was ready to grade and who wasn’t. This was a huge responsibility and marked a high level of trust as the club was his livelihood, it was a hobby for me but a living for him. Fortunately, it all turned out well!
It was after this grading that I realised I was good at teaching and wanted to run a club of my own, so that’s what I did. I joined forces with another student and together we opened our own martial arts club and ran it successfully for 8 years, even training black belts of our own.

So much more than a hobby

Those years teaching were some of the best of my life and I learned a great deal about myself and what I was capable of. I had also changed careers a few times throughout these years, each job change was a move onto something that was more challenging and rewarding.

So, what is in a hobby? Or an interest? Or a talent? Mine literally changed me as a person and changed my life, without it I would certainly not be working as an Asset Coach for Mayday Trust, in a career I love, giving the people I work with the same opportunities I was so lucky to have had.

Without exploring and developing my hobbies I honestly don’t think that I would be living the rewarding life that I currently do.

We are 6 relationship breakdowns away from homelessness

Mayday Trust PTS Manager, Sarah Hughes, explores the reasons behind homelessness, the importance of positive relationships and if we really are all 6 weeks away from homelessness

It was in a newspaper so it must be true, right?

I read an article in the Guardian once entitled ‘You are two pay packets from the streets, they say. Well, it’s true’. It recounted stories of middle-class individuals who lost their jobs and then their homes and relationships (1). It is a rhetoric I have heard many times which is either based on pay packets or weeks; 6 weeks, two pay packets. Its purpose is to remind us that we are all the same and homelessness is not a part of our identity, but a set of events that cause us to fall and go through tough times. This sentiment I can wholeheartedly agree with, but my concern is how it is framed. Whilst losing a job can start a snowball effect of negative change, it is not telling us the whole picture.

The importance of relationships

When I hear these statements, I often think about what I would do if I lost my job suddenly. Working in the voluntary sector, it is not unrealistic to think this might happen. I live in an expensive area and rent costs are high, so maintaining my home would certainly be a challenge, but I am confident I would not become homeless. Firstly I live with a supportive partner who would not only financially support me through this transition, but also emotionally. If in the worst-case scenario that broke down, I have a loving family who would not hesitate in giving me a helping hand if I asked them to. I also have an array of supportive friends who I know care enough to lend a bit of money or even put me up if the absolute worst happened. In order to become street homeless, I would have to sabotage all of those relationships.

My safety net is not my job or my house, it is the people in my life. People who are willing to step in and offer me support when I need it. I am in no doubt that it would be tough, but I know I have strong connections with others who would carry me through tough times until I am back on my feet and self-sufficient again. I also know they would believe in me and give me the strength to keep moving forward.

Simplifying the problem doesn’t fix the problem

I read another article which discussed a similar theme of the ‘middle class’ becoming homeless. It talks about an individual who has graduated with honours but found himself homeless after a negative set of events happened following his wife dying. He states:

‘I lost my wife, but I also lost myself – every ambition, every hope and dream, every enjoyment and passion, every possibility of happiness, and in short, everything that defined me as a person. If it happens that a person is stripped absolutely bare, becomes a stranger even to themselves, who can say what they are or are not capable of doing, and of becoming? The moral superiority of those who look down on drug addicts and homeless people, or presume to know what is best for them, hangs by a thread.’ (2)

I think the important element here is that he lost his wife, and then he lost himself. It wasn’t that he lost his job or house, which did happen, but it was the loss of his wife which changed the course of his life. By framing homelessness as losing a job or house, it simplifies this issue.

This is dangerous because it leads people to think there is an easy solution. Whilst for some there may be, this does not fit all. Having worked in homelessness services for 3 years, in my experience no one becomes homeless just because they lost their job; they became homeless because they lost their last relationship.

The power of building positive relationships should not be ignored

In order to recover from homelessness, people need relationships which can act as buffers and safety nets for the future. They also need relationships to build happy lives which are full of the joy we are lucky enough to have. It would be ridiculous to suggest that a job and a home are not important, because they absolutely are, but we must not forget the true cause of homelessness which is the loss of each other.

(1) www.theguardian.com/society/2009/mar/22/homeless-middle-class-recession LAST ACCESSED 27/12/2017

(2) www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jan/13/homeless-britain-personal-stories LAST ACCESSED 27/12/2017

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To Teach or Not to Teach

Asset coach, Richard Boylan, explores differences between teaching and coaching by drawing on his own experiences on the athletics field.

For me, my school years were not the greatest time of my life, or the easiest. I was never going to be the next Albert Einstein or Vera Rubin, and I don’t think my parents ever worried about making space on top of the TV for my graduation photo!

The one thing I was good at during my school years was sport, specifically athletics and I was fortunate enough to represent my school on a number of occasions, although I didn’t see it this way at the time! The downside to being on the athletics team meant that I had to give up some of my lunch breaks throughout the week for additional training. It was during these lunch time training sessions that I became aware of the difference between teaching and coaching.

Treating people as people

I remember being addressed as ‘Richard’ for the first time, rather than the preferred habit that PE teachers had of calling you by your Surname! There was focus on me as a person and what I was good at, where my strength’s lay and what assets I had. I was tall with long legs so they taught me how to run faster by increasing my stride length. I was fast over the hurdles, but they taught me to be faster by showing me how to utilize my trailing leg better. I was quick over 400m, but they helped me be better by having me break the sprint down into stages, rather than just run flat out from start to finish.

It was the first time that I was talked to rather than talked at. This wasn’t a session where they were teaching 20-30 people at a time, it was designed and set up for me, to help me build on my strengths and develop them further.

No judgement

On one occasion I remember swearing in frustration whilst attempting to beat the school long jump record, I messed up my approach and ended up running straight through the sand. Any other time this would have resulted in a telling off like no other and more than likely detention, but on this occasion they cracked a joke and then let it go, why? Because they recognized the effort that was being put in and the circumstances, they also knew me and how out of character it was. They didn’t judge me.

Investing time to build assets

Another time I remember struggling to get the technique right whilst using the shot put, I couldn’t get my arms and hips to work together to generate better speed and power. After watching me for around 20 minutes, the PE teacher strolled out into the middle of the field, further than I had thrown it so far, spread his arms above his head and shouted at me to put the shot over his head……it went over his head on the first throw!

As I look back on those times I reflect on the time and effort they put into helping a shy and self-conscious kid develop and build on his abilities……they gave up their lunch breaks to do it. When they said run I ran, when they said jump I jumped (literally!), but they knew me, knew what I was capable of and saw that I could be more, even when I didn’t. They would have had conversations that I was unaware of, spent time developing training schedules designed around me, pushing me to be better.

Helping to build confidence that lasts a lifetime

30+ years on and I still remember those training sessions, how they spoke to me and treated me. As an Asset Coach for Mayday Trust I draw heavily on those days, how they thought out of the box when encouraging me, but most importantly how being coached rather than taught made me feel like I was invincible!

Ditching the Lanyard

Mayday Coach, Andrew Durman, explores how it feels to go from knowing something isn’t right with the system to ditching the lanyard and working in a genuine person-led way through the Person-led, Transitional and Strength-based (PTS) Response.

Into the light

I count myself fortunate as I have recently been brought into the light as a PTS Coach for Mayday Trust in Northamptonshire. Prior to this, I have spent the majority of my work alongside people experiencing homelessness as a project worker or similar non-descriptive job title in traditional hostels/supported accommodation units. This year I hit 10 years in this line of work which brought me to a crossroad which was, unfortunately, forcing me down a road I was not wanting to go and the only other way to avoid it was to change career completely. This brought me to feeling a sense of sadness as it was not a decision I wanted to make but had to. The decision was that I wanted to continue my love for working alongside real people going through real difficulties and challenges within their lives, however, the trouble was that I could no longer sustain working in the current system for supporting these individuals. Thankfully an opportunity came for me to join Mayday. Hence the fortunate position I now find myself in now.

Person centred, or just at the centre of the hoop you have to jump through?

In the months I have been a PTS Coach I have realised the reason for the feeling that something wasn’t right whilst working in the traditional hostel environment. These feelings were, that although those services believed they had the right intentions to start with, something had gotten lost along the way. That something was the individual that the services had been created to support. For example, tag lines like ‘breaking the cycle of homelessness’ when in fact the service itself was a large contributing factor to that cycle of homelessness. Values like ‘person-centred approach’, but only as long as you agreed to conform and be under the control of a service. You may have been at the centre, but the circle around you was not one that was personalised to the individual, or one that the individual had any control over. It was in fact the centre of a hoop that you had to jump through in order to get a bed/room.

We are working with people so I never understood why, if that person is experiencing homelessness, we have a system with a specific ‘homeless way’ of working with that person. When this is the case you are not working with the person, you are in fact working with ‘the homeless’. If I go to the GP for support, I go in there with no labels and no other information other than I have something I need support with. That specific something is dealt with. I am a person and that is what I want help with at this time.

Working with individuals to break the cycle of homelessness yet seeing people return time and time again to the service did not seem right. Something was not working and the question would always be what is this individual going to do differently for this to be able to work, for us to allow that person to have access to the service (that does not sound empowering and person-centred at all). This was the greatest contradiction and something I struggled with. It is so obvious, but sadly only if you can see it, and maybe you cannot see it because you are not looking! The question should be what can we do differently, in order to be able to support this individual ‘break the cycle of homelessness?’

The answer is to change the system!

I am very proud to be a part of Mayday Trust that are doing this right now. Where once I was meeting people in an office in a scheme, I am now meeting in coffee shops, pubs, pool clubs, games workshops, the park, the gym, anywhere that the person feels comfortable. There is no pressure to meet and no consequences to not meeting, yet individuals choose to come. We are not having meaningless conversations for the sake of ‘key-working’ where the person is held at ransom as if they do not attend, labelled ‘non-engaging’ and issued with warning letters threatening eviction.

We are having real conversations about life in the exact same way that I do with my wife and mates and if the outcome of that conversation is reassurance, hope, confidence, a clearer direction on where to go/what to do, happiness, self-belief, empowerment, freedom and control then that’s outcome achieved. How do you record that in the current system? Where is the room for that among details on substance misuse, offending, mental health, budgeting, healthy cooking etc?

Focus on the positives and the negatives disappear

The funny thing is the more those conversations on those subjects happen, the more information gets recorded. A shift in focus and having conversations like the ones I am currently having and you will find that less needs recording (because those issues are having less of an impact on that person’s life). A focus on the negative will always lead to the negatives. But focus on the positives and the negatives will disappear. Sounds simple and that is because it is. We are not just looking for a plaster to cover up the difficulty (to manage the difficulty) we are getting to the root of it which brings on longevity in life & happiness. It is the symptoms that the current system supports and not the root cause of the current situation someone is in. And it is very rare that the answer to the root cause comes from focusing on the symptoms.

Ditch the lanyard

There are no labels attached in the places we meet, no judgement, or power imbalance, no lanyard. No one knows who we are, as far as they know we are just two humans having a conversation. The feelings that I get from this I find very hard to describe. So imagine the empowerment and feeling that the individual has. Not only does the system institutionalise the individuals it is there to support, but also the professionals working within it. The freedom and empowerment I feel now as a coach is powerful. I cannot imagine returning to work in a traditional supported accommodation service and will never do again. As the impact I can now have working with others is incomparable. That impact is that the power/control/choice is completely in the hands of the person. True empowerment, true person centred and not just a tag line in a mission statement or list of service values.

The most effective conversations I had whilst working in traditional services for homeless individuals was when bumping into someone in the corridor or around a pool table, not during ‘keywork’ meetings. Now all the meetings and conversations I have are effective and in ‘Places of Purpose’.

Not only that but I work for an organisation, with PTS partners and a team full of inspirational and like-minded people.

I feel very lucky and I am indeed empowered in the same way that finally the people I am working alongside are empowered.

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I have locked myself out

“I’ve locked myself out!” What is an asset based, strength based approach in this situation? How can housing teams really start to deliver on promoting independence, leading to a ‘positive and sustained move on’? Mayday Chief Executive Pat McArdle discusses.

If only it was as simple as learning a new way of working, getting stuck into a new delivery model but as this very common example demonstrates, to get people out of homelessness demands a significant change in how we all think and act, individually, as teams, as organisations, and as commissioners. Strength based and personalised approaches require a complete change of mindset.

From Mayday’s Director of Operations:

I was involved in a discussion with a housing team who were setting up a new service and trying to solve the problem of people loosing their keys at night and what the answer was to avert this common problem.

 

The discussion very much focused on things like maybe having an ‘on call’ service but what if there was no one local to go out to the resident. The option of 24hr cover was not an option due to budget. The old service had a hostel nearby which held a ‘master’ key so they had a solution. It was expensive if the fire brigade had to be called! The point was made that many schemes do not offer a solution and the person usually finds somewhere else to go or waits until the staff arrive in the morning.

So the solution was either to ‘fix’ the problem or abandon responsibility. A very real illustration of how deficit approaches focus on trying to ‘fix’ problems without consideration of how this ‘fixing’ takes power, responsibility and control away from individuals and takes them further away from living independently.

The question, if you are working from a strength-based approach moves from, is “how will I, or we as an organisation, will we solve the problem?” to “how can we assist you in solving this issue for yourself, if it arises for you?” We need to retrain our mind to think:

Normalise the situation Our first thought needs to be how would I cope if I locked myself out. I might have a spare key somewhere, I might call out a locksmith ( so it might be good to give people numbers and costs as they move in) I might break a small window and block it up. I might stay with a friend. Ok so maybe none of these solutions will work with the person I am working with but normalising the situation removes us from the temptation of defaulting to our old, traditional, ‘fixing’ ways. It reminds us to treat people as people and not ‘clients’.

Personalise it People come up with really creative things to do, if they get omega constellation 123 55 24 60 05 002 ladies mother of pearl white dial yellow gold set with diamonds strap 24 mm 3 locked out. All you have to do is ask them. It is an important discussion to have, before it happens. There was a man, who would pin his key to a chain inside his jacket when he was going out on a bender as it stopped the keys dropping out of his pocket; a woman, who had a spare under a plant pot as her hands were shaky and she couldn’t use the key safe outside;  a woman, who had organised a sleeping bag in his mums shed; and a man who could not find a way and had a volunteer who would come out to help once a week. Lots of ways that people found for themselves.

Empower not disempower By having a chat with someone when they move in, you are giving responsibility to them, not abandoning them in what could be a difficult and distressing situation. The person has time to think themselves about what they would do and they are also clear that this is THEIR responsibility because it would be when they live independently. So your ‘not helping’ is intentional and is about still supporting them.

Mayday’s Personal Transitions Service (PTS) is a strength-based and personalised approach. It requires recruiting people who aren’t afraid to challenge much of what they have learnt before and sometimes their own beliefs and thinking. It is always about balancing a duty of care with allowing someone to take their own risks and learn positively from their failures. This is why delivering strength based work is not for everyone.

Traditional deficit-based approaches try to solve too many problems for people and even when there is good forward thinking person-centred staff, organisational systems can have generic policies that disempower and restrict staff from personalising approaches. Ultimately, commissioners can have generic service specifications that require things like 24hr cover or set requirements that mean organisations can’t deliver personalised work.

So let’s all be reflective and honest with ourselves and while many say we deliver strength based or personalised work, let’s recognise that to really do this, we need to change the system. A system that at all levels is still focused on needs and risks.

As individuals, frontline staff and teams, let’s recognise that we all need to start to unlearn the ways of a deficit and risk-averse approach, challenge ourselves each day and truly embed strength based, empowering and personalised ways of working that might just let more people escape this broken system.

Zumba: Let’s get Loud!

Paddy Bates from Mayday Trust reflects on sector-specific Zumba and yoga sessions and asks friends in the sector to “demand for others only what we would demand for ourselves”

Yesterday an interesting advert landed in my inbox courtesy of a Google alert I have set up. It read: “Zumba and yoga teacher required to run sessions for Homeless Pathways”

Clicking on the link I read the following: “We are looking for volunteers to run either Zumba or yoga sessions at our hostel. Our clients are interested in learning these new skills and getting fit. Sessions can be run at a time that suits you either weekly, fortnightly or monthly.”

I was over the moon! – Here was an opportunity for me to do a good deed for the day. I switched to my internet browser and did a quick search for “yoga (my area)” and “Zumba (my area)”. There were so many results! I found, if you were inclined, you could Zumba and yoga twice a day, most days, in various venues within a walking distance from the centre of town. Most classes would cost less than half the price of a pack of cigarettes and there were classes at times to suit even the busiest of folk.

So there you go! I hope I have saved someone a bit of time.

I have the privilege of working at Mayday Trust. We support folks going through challenging life transitions, such as those experiencing homelessness. When one of our Asset Coaches is told by the individual that they would like to try Zumba or yoga, they do what I just did – they find a local yoga or Zumba class.

Why? Because that’s what I would do.

If I, Paddy, want to take up yoga or Zumba, I google local classes and I ask my fitter, healthier friends about opportunities to do this in my area. What I don’t do is hope someone sets up a private yoga session, in my house, specifically for Irish guys in their late thirties, who tend to comfort eat. That would be a bit weird and really unlikely to happen, right? But what if a kind, compassionate individual or group of individuals came along and considered that I might feel more comfortable doing the Zumba or yoga in my own house, with ‘my own kind’. Wouldn’t that be better for everyone? Well, no, folks are rarely grateful for segregation. We know this.

“OK”, I hear you say, “gone a bit too far there, and of course, no-one is going to set up a yoga class in your house for such a specific group of folks”. Unless I become homeless and end up in a hostel or shelter, that is. In that eventuality, then I will get my Zumba class in-house with folks who are all in the same boat as me.

Except… They are not all in the same boat; it’s not a house and they don’t all want a Zumba class on Tuesday at 1 pm, especially in their living room.

Our Mayday Asset Coaches reflect tirelessly on the wonderful unique natures of each individual they work with and offer an appropriately bespoke series of interventions to build on and develop what each individual is genuinely passionate about.

Let’s say that really is Zumba. Great! So, the Asset Coach will support the individual to get to a Zumba class in town. This might be as simple as suggesting they google local Zumba classes like I did. The individual might well be nervous about going to a Zumba class in the centre of town, full of strangers, for the first time. To be honest I would be too. So their Coach or a volunteer might go with them. Maybe we would use a bit of Personal Budget to get new gym clothes – I feel better if I look the part.

What happens when the Coach, or volunteer, walk into that community hall with that individual for the first time? Not much really. It’s just two new members walking into Zumba. Not “Homeless Dave” and “Keyworker Lisa” but simply Dave and Lisa. – “Hi. Nice to meet you. Let’s get to dancing and exercising.”

Can you see the difference? Can you feel it? The folks we work with certainly do. The freedom, the lack of label, the lack of bothering, the being part of rather than kept apart from. Our experience has shown that in a few weeks, Dave won’t need or want Lisa to go to Zumba. He has made his own new friends now. His networks of positive relations, his confidence and his internal and external assets have expanded in ways that never would have happened had he stayed in his hostel and taken part in Zumba once a month with his bunk-mate.

We see this time and time again, don’t we? An individual works their way through the “homeless pathway” until they reach that pot of gold at the end – their own place. However, so many times, where do we see them the very next day? Right back on that wall outside the hostel. Why? It’s clear and proven – without that “parallel pathway” of positive new experiences, new networks and relationships, you are left with a man or woman alone in a room. I’d be back on that wall in a flash – it’s where my friends are, where I feel comfortable. Dare I say it, where I belong.

It is not always so simple. Obviously. But I urge you. I plead with you. You the compassionate, hard-working, kind friends of this sector. Let’s give it a try. Let’s chat, reflect, consider and demand for others only what we would demand for ourselves. Homelessness is transitional. We believe this. We know this. Let’s make it as brief a transition as possible.

Change Typewriter

Delivering System Change on The Ground

At the launch of Mayday’s Personal Transitions Service and our report Homelessness System Under Deconstruction, Sarah Hughes describes her experiences of bringing about systems change through delivering Personal Transitions Service.

Nearly 3 years ago, I came to work in the Oxford Adult Homeless Pathway, straight from university, with little knowledge of what homelessness means and carrying with me all the perceptions and ideas that society had given me on how we define a ‘homeless person’. This included all the ‘problems’ associated with homelessness and all the assumptions about how more and better services could provide a fix. Working as a coach at Mayday, I had to unlearn everything I was told by society and the sector. I couldn’t have done this without the people I have worked with over the course of the Proof of Concept. I feel privileged to have worked with such a diverse, interesting, funny and passionate set of people who have taught me so much. But all too often this same set of fantastic people who have enriched my life, are reduced to a set of problems and labels.

Let’s put ourselves in their shoes for a minute. Answer these questions in your head and think about how you would feel about saying your answers out loud. How would you feel about the person who is asking you? Someone you may have never met before, a stranger who does not know you… Do you use drugs? Do you drink? Do you have mental health issues? If you are a woman, are you pregnant? Have you been to prison? These questions are very personal and are based on pre-conceived ideas about the people that we meet.

The truth is – the Personal Transitions Service is nothing, if not deconstructing the assumptions about what makes, keeps and solves homelessness. This would not happen without the input of people experiencing homelessness or the coaches who are bringing about change through their actions, values and behaviours. And trust me, being in the system, and going against it is no easy task.

Coaches aim to connect with people at a personal level. When individuals are referred to Mayday, they come with a ‘needs’ profile – but this tells us nothing about who they are, what their preferences are, and what they would like to do with their lives. There is a big discrepancy between the needs profile, and the people we work with every day. Unless there are grave safety issues, we prefer not to see their needs assessment and start by building a relationship with the person through a conversation about their strengths.
Saying we do not always agree with needs and risk assessments and saying people’s strengths, skills and aspirations need to be recognised requires much bravery. When we said we see ‘strengths’, we were deemed to be too fluffy! But truly listening to people and building strong relationships at a human level is so fundamental. Without it people do not have a voice in the system.

People are suspicious when they start working with Mayday. They are not sure what to expect and base their judgements on previous experiences of working with services. Coaches put a lot of work into winning people around, proving to them we are a worthy service. When I was coaching, I worked with an individual, Jim, who for the first 3 months didn’t turn up to any meetings. Then I found a hook through setting Jim up with guitar lessons and from this we got to know each other and spent a lot of time discussing books, politics, music and history- all things I was more than happy to talk about! Once Jim got to know me, and what Mayday is about, he turned up every week and did not miss a meeting. Sometime later, Jim reflected with me and said that he didn’t like me at first and that is why he did not come but that he now greatly regretted wasting time and wished he had worked with a coach regularly from day one.

The Personal Transitions Service is about finding what people are passionate about, and building on their passions to find purpose and surround them with new friends and community outside of the homelessness system.
We have been received with much scepticism – ‘Mayday is all carrots, and not enough sticks’. Well, to me, what others called ‘the carrot’ is about being human, and not a system. The carrot is about thinking outside the box, and working with an individual to open up opportunities which use the rich set of skills, abilities and strengths of the people we work with so that they can move on to where they want to be.

For example we worked with Bob, who was doing street art and this was getting him into trouble. But instead of seeking to stop this behaviour, punish him or use the ‘stick’ we turned it into a carrot. The coach worked with Bob to explore his love of art and graffiti. They went on a street art tour in Shoreditch and the coach also brokered an opportunity for Bob to do some art on a wall in a local café in Oxford. This focused him on the future and on the back of this he is looking to do a course and get into work.

But Asset Coaches not only build the critical initial relationship with the individuals, they also work autonomously and creatively with the individual to ensure that the power remains with them. The focus is on each individual continually building evidence of their ability to achieve for themselves.

Often people in services end up having things done for them or situations ‘fixed’. Someone going into rent arrears? Let’s make some calls to sort it out. Someone started using again? Let’s refer them to a drug worker. Whilst well intentioned, this interventionist approach takes agency away from people.

We have of course duty of care – but we also need to give people room to fall safely. We learn by falling and the falls must not be prevented- but people need a non-judgemental network of support around them to facilitate them getting back up and to encourage them to carry on. Standing back is one of the most crucial but difficult things a coach has to do.

When I was coaching I worked with Ray who was going through a difficult time. He did not have contact with his daughter who he was very close to and he was drinking heavily to cope with the situation. We had looked at several options he was interested in, including going to meditation, film courses and martial arts. But he was not coping well with not being able to see his daughter and his engagement dropped and his drinking escalated. I stayed in touch, let him know I was there but we slowed things down.

A few months down the line he thanked me for giving him space. He said it would have been detrimental to push him at that time and he was glad that whilst he knew I was there to talk to, I was not forcing him to make decisions he was not ready for. Sometimes coaching is just about knowing when to give someone safe space; which is hard because you have to know that things could go wrong. When he started engaging again, he reduced drinking, got in touch with his daughter and started applying for a degree. This was the right time for him. He made the decision.

Working by the schedule of the people we work with is in constant contrast to the systems we work within. The focus on deficits and ‘fixing’ people’s issues when they are not ready, ends up acting as a barrier for them moving forward. When they do not achieve what is set out for them, they then cannot access options that they would like to explore. There is emerging evidence to suggest that some of the people termed ‘complex needs’ did not require some of the high-cost interventions given to them. For example, drug rehabilitation and long periods in hostels or supported accommodation, before being able to move into the community and successfully sustain their own accommodation. But there is a need for the people we work with to prove themselves in certain areas, areas which they may not be ready to address yet, and do not define their ability to live their life the way they want to. Does someone need to have addressed all their ‘issues’ before we can deem them ‘move on ready’? Could we all class ourselves as ‘move on ready’? I know I have credit card debts, I order too many pizzas and I drink too much sometimes. If I became homeless tomorrow, would these things that I can manage in my own home today, become barriers to my independence tomorrow?

A needs based system says “We will believe you when you achieve it, when you complete the tasks given to you”. We say “we believe in you, you will achieve”. A major disruption has been in how we see people, and how they achieve their outcomes.

When I was working as a coach I was told by others that Mayday coaches just do the ‘fun’, ‘soft’ stuff whilst other services do the ‘real’, ‘hard’ work. I believe our work is extremely real and if you work in a strength based way, you are choosing to take the more difficult path. You are also choosing to go against the norm. Being an Asset Coach is about being in the system, but against it at the same time. It isn’t for everyone, and it takes personal strength and resilience to carry on doing, carry on challenging.

But I take strength from knowing that it works. My gut first told me this would work, then I heard it from the people I worked with and then I saw it in the data; people’s asset scores were improving, they were adding more and more of the good stuff to their lives; the good stuff which would eventually make no room for the bad stuff.

The real systems-changers are the people who access services and the coaches – every decision they make, every action they take, chips away at the system. But we are able to do this, because we operate in a micro-system called Mayday that gives us the freedom to break the rules, challenge assumptions and change practice.

Deconstructing a Broken System

At the launch of Mayday’s Personal Transitions Service and our report Homelessness System Under Deconstruction, Pat McArdle describes why the sector requires a paradigm shift to transform how we tackle homelessness.

I would like to begin by sincerely thanking The Lord Mayor for choosing Mayday as one of her charities of the year. Having the privilege of working with The Lord Mayor this year, will enable us to maintain a focus and raise the profile of an issue that many of us feel very passionate about – homelessness.

There are few social issues, though often misunderstood, that I feel so strongly about, seeing people trying to survive, and not just from a night on the street, hunger or poverty or a decent roof over their head but trying to maintain their dignity, overcome rejection, isolation, loneliness, seeking a place to belong, to escape pain, emotional or physical, to find somewhere where you can feel a sense of purpose or self-respect. Watching people trying to survive is hard, with some even judging those very survival strategies apportioning responsibility to the individual, pathologising or labeling but homelessness is a state, a state from which it is hard to climb out of, no matter how strong, how resilient, ultimately over time it takes its toll, it wears people down.

No one was born to be homelessness – Charles Darwin once said:

“If the misery of our poor is caused not by laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin”.

So over the last 3 years, I have begun to think how I, over the last 30 years, maybe have not listened enough, reflected enough, educated myself enough to understand the role that I was playing in building and colluding with a system that in essence has dis-empowered, not empowered people to get through their tough transition, overcome whatever demons they are facing, or barriers they are climbing.

When did it happen that we became so system led not human led, when did ticking the boxes become more important than doing what’s right for that person.

This is why our report is called: “Homelessness System under Deconstruction.”

In the summer of 2014, I stood with a safeguarding officer watching a vulnerable man get into a taxi with a known drug dealer. His worker told me that the man was being taken to the cash point where the drug dealer would take all his money in return for drugs that was forced upon him. A pattern repeated often over a long period of time

The man was receiving the traditional support, but however well-intentioned we were, what real impact would referrals to drug rehabs, or engaging with mental health services or help with keeping his room tidy really have. Would it stop him feeling threatened, scared and intimidated, would it stop him being a target for the drug dealer? With all our blanket policies and rigid offers, would the man feel safe to trust us enough with what was really going on in his life?

People don’t have complex needs, the situation has become complex

As a homeless sector and as a community we must focus. We need to find good homes for people in the community where people are safe. We need to treat people as people, not clients, and as individuals we need to respond to real world and impactful solutions, we must build trust, listen and not assume that everyone needs a service some people just need to belong, find a purpose, a way back to belong and be part of the community. As a sector, we must not be distracted by government agendas or all the many debates going on in the homelessness sector. Our resource is limited and while austerity has brought about many new and interesting responses to homelessness, the place to start is by listening to people, listening to frontline staff and really trying to understand what is happening. This is what Mayday has tried to do over the last 5 years.

I would like to sincerely thank Oxford City and County Councils who gave Mayday this opportunity to deliver the Proof of Concept. The authority with other providers have often supported what we were doing, other times questioned, concerned, challenged; and overall made a huge contribution to over two years, the richness and depth of what we have learnt, the changes that we have experienced has been invaluable.

This is why it has been so difficult, so challenging to produce a report that is just a straight forward model evaluation. Thank you to our funders who have bared with us. And great thanks to a member of our board Andrew Meehan, who very succinctly categorised our report into 3 areas:

Advocating for the PTS

From our qualitative evidence and experience, the period of the proof concept makes us even more committed to advocating for personal transitions – personalised and strength based approaches. The feedback and individual achievements of people we work with have told us that people feel respected and treated with dignity. To me, that is a fundamental element of what people experiencing homelessness have asked from us and absolutely deserve. Small numbers who started with us just over / years ago have sustained positive life changes which give us great motivation to continue to a larger scale research project.

Independent evaluation

The report also contains Logical Thinking’s independent evaluation of our service model, despite 5 years of evolving and co-producing a personalised and asset-based approach, I don’t think we are there yet but the work and results have demonstrated the scale of the task in not only introducing a new model but one which demands cultural, structural and system change both for the organisation and staff involved. A total new way of thinking and acting around the problem.

Learning and experience

Finally, the report discusses our overall learning and experience of delivering the Personal Transitions Service. During the Prooof of Concept, we inadvertently discovered what system change was and just how failing a UK needs and deficit approach was in helping people out of homelessness.

My hope for today is not to persuade you that Mayday has discovered the magic solution to ending homelessness but to ask that you play a role in bringing about the paradigm shift that is needed to radically transform our approach to tackling this problem. Whether you are  an interested party, a provider, a funder or commissioner, it can’t happen without all of us coming together starting with each one of us challenging our own thinking and perceptions. Start by helping to deconstruct this broken system. Homelessness can be a brief transition in someone’s life, we can make that happen if we chose to believe it. We at Mayday believe that with personalised responses, seeing an individual’s strengths, helping them see a different future for themselves, believing in them, can make this happen.

Download full Homelessness System Under Deconstruction Report

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