The Basingstoke and Deane Social Inclusion Partnership was formed in 2015 to develop a community-led response to homelessness through a partnership approach.
The partnership brings together housing, homelessness and emergency services, community organisations, faith-based voluntary groups, people with lived experience and local businesses who are all committed to reducing homelessness and advancing social inclusion in the borough.
Andover Mind
Andover Mind works across Hampshire supporting people with mental ill health, as well as adult carers and those living with dementia and mild cognitive impairment.
The charity has a wellbeing centre in Vyne Road, Basingstoke where a range of services are provided to support people with mental health problems. Help is available to all of those who need it, from aiding recovery from a serious mental health issue to providing advice, services and information to people wanting to avoid poor mental health. In the evenings the wellbeing centre doubles up as a Safe Haven, which is open every day of the year for anyone suffering with a mental health crisis. The service is open from 6pm until 10pm year-round and its doors are open to all, with no need for an appointment. There’s also the option to call the service, or to attend a virtual appointment, for those unable to attend in person.
Helen Mothersole is Head of Wellbeing Services for the charity. She said: “People experiencing homelessness are more at risk of poor mental health and a proportion of our service users are homeless. We support them by teaching recovery & coping skills to help with the causes of their mental health issues. The work we do based around wellbeing, teaching skills to manage anxiety, self-esteem, confidence and anger can all make a difference.
“We also direct them to other agencies which are also able to support them in other ways, and that’s where the Social Inclusion Partnership is so valuable. We’re able to give service updates, to network, to keep up to date with the latest information about services which we can then share with those we support. It’s a really good opportunity.”
Another string to the charity’s bow is their recently launched counselling service. The service is offered in Basingstoke at a heavily discounted rate, and is subject to individual financial circumstances. The service can be accessed by anyone, either through self-referral or through a professional.
Wellbeing Advisors from the charity are also based in GP surgeries across Hampshire thanks to the formation of Hampshire Minds CIC (community interest company), which brought together Andover Mind, Havant and East Hants Mind and Solent Mind to jointly provide the Adult mental health and wellbeing services across the county.
Wellbeing services offered through the CIC aim to provide clients with the tools and resources necessary to manage their own mental wellbeing through one-to-one support and wellbeing related workshops & groups which help people identify their own needs and work towards their goals.
Helen said: “Our ethos is around providing a range of services designed to enable people to achieve their individual potential. But a big part of what we do is working to promote mental wellbeing and to challenge the stigma and discrimination which can exist around mental health.”
Basingstoke Voluntary Action (BVA)
Basingstoke Voluntary Action (BVA) represents the voluntary sector across Basingstoke & Deane and is at the heart of the local community. It plays a key part in contributing to and supporting the Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP).
Through the partnership, local groups and organisations are able to share knowledge and good practice, finding practical solutions to urgent issues. In recent months, the focus has been on the cost-of-living crisis and supporting Warm Hubs across the borough.
Daniel Neat, Deputy Chief Executive of BVA, explains that this close working relationship is vital when it comes to helping those who are vulnerable.
He said: “In recent years we have seen an ever growing need for closer partnership working to address emergency responses and challenges, through our recent work with the vaccination centres, Afghan Evacuee Programme and Ukraine Community Caseworker role. Through the SIP, we are able to come together and network with other partners working in similar fields for the benefit of our members and wider residents of Basingstoke & Deane.”
As the CVS representing the borough, BVA’s mission is to enable community organisations to thrive, facilitating a vibrant, sustainable, and far-reaching voluntary sector to champion the needs of local residents.
Daniel said: “Our role is to represent the voluntary sector across Basingstoke & Deane, bridging support opportunities that the VCSE sector can provide across the borough. We drive the sustainability of VCSE organisations locally through our membership package.”
The group does this through several key workstreams:
- An umbrella membership body for VCSE organisations – through BVA’s free membership offer, organisations can access a wide range of development, information, and guidance services to help them flourish.
- Representation & Partnerships – through its wide-reaching presence and connections amongst local, county, and national networks, ensuring that the voice of the VCSE sector is represented at a strategic level.
- Volunteering Centre of Excellence – BVA members are equipped with a volunteer workforce fit to meet the needs of the community. Through promotion of volunteering amongst residents BVA ensures the VCSE sector is connected to, and represented by, the people it serves.
- Leading Community Action – from coordination of large-scale community efforts to support emergency situations, through to bringing together key partners and managing consortia to design and deliver community initiatives. BVA identifies needs and creates voluntary action.
Camrose Centre
The Camrose Centre is a place where people who are homeless or vulnerably housed can find shelter, food, a shower, clean clothes, companionship, and a listening ear.
Set up 15 years ago and operating as an independent charity since 2020, the centre opens four days a week and sees around 300 people coming through its doors each year.
It is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10 am and 2 pm, offering a breakfast and hot lunch. A ‘brunchtime’ session runs on Fridays between 10am and 12.30pm (for homeless people only) and a Sunday lunchtime session runs from 12pm to 3pm.
It’s a place where people struggling with accommodation are always welcome to go for help, and offering information, assistance and the use of a phone to help with legal, financial and addiction issues which they may be facing alone. The centre can also help with access to physical and mental health services with local GP visits once a month.
Camrose is entirely open access and as Mike Browning, Chair of Trustees, explains: “anyone can knock on the door and be made welcome.” Referrals are often made through any Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) member although these are not essential. The Camrose Centre is a founding member of the SIP and works closely with its members.
Those supported by the charity will usually be homeless, sofa surfing or living in temporary accommodation such as a hostel or vulnerably housed – and those who need support in maintaining their tenancy because of factors such as poverty, limited capability or mental ill-health.
Mike said: “It’s very rewarding to be able to listen to people and to see them slowly gaining confidence from coming to Camrose and feeling that they’re able to explain their own situation. Ultimately, it’s the individual who will do the work to improve their own situation, so we can’t take any credit for people’s own success stories, but it’s very rewarding to be a part of their journey.”
The centre employs four part time support workers, who oversee sessions and work with clients to assess their needs individually and offer help and advice tailored to their specific circumstances. There is a pool of around 30 volunteers, five or six of whom make everything happen during each session in terms of cooking and providing food, clothes, toiletries and other essential items, which are all donated locally by various organisations and individuals.
Mike said: “We are so well supported by the local community and are incredibly lucky in that regard. Our supporters are amazing and there’s a real drive from people to do their bit to help.”
The charity’s goal is to promote fulfilling lifestyles, emotional wellbeing and support long-term changes for those experiencing the effects of homelessness, mental and physical ill health, poverty, substance misuse, domestic violence, unemployment, exploitation and social isolation.
Always looking for new ways to offer support, The Camrose Centre is currently looking at its strategy for the next three years, working with staff, volunteers, clients past and present to map out what the future of the charity will look like. But its mission – to help those who are homeless or vulnerably housed in the borough – will never change nor will its approach of local people helping local people.
Julian House
You might have spotted their outreach team on the streets of Basingstoke, offering help and hope to those who are homeless, or heard about their navigators who are there as constant support for those taking steps to rebuild their lives.
Julian House works to ensure that anyone sleeping rough, or at risk of homelessness, knows what support is available.
The charity plays a vital role in the Social Inclusion Partnership, putting the individual and their needs at the heart of what they do and helping break down the stigma around homelessness.
As Laura Storer, Service Manager explains, homelessness can happen to anyone. She said: “It can just be a case of being unlucky a couple of times, maybe a relationship breakdown, or the loss of a job. People are so complex and things are tough for everyone at the moment.
“We know that there are preconceptions which exist about homelessness and I believe that’s why the work of the SIP is so important, both in terms of offering that vital practical and emotional support and helping to change those preconceptions.”
The charity’s outreach team is out and about seven days a week, approaching people directly with support to find accommodation and information about where they can get help. They’re the first point of contact for many, responding to reports from partner agencies and from members of the public about those who have been spotted sleeping rough, searching the local area to ensure they can offer help and support.
The team make referrals into accommodation in Basingstoke, or reconnect people to somewhere they have local connections. There’s help out there, and the outreach team have all that information at their fingertips. They’re able to signpost people to help with benefits, mental health services, where to seek help with drug and alcohol misuse and making recommendations of any care needs.
The charity works to support people throughout their journey. Their rough sleeper navigators support those who have a history of homelessness. Working alongside the council’s housing team, they help those have accommodation to maintain their tenancy, and assist those who don’t to take the first steps to secure somewhere settled to stay. No matter what the needs of those they’re working with, they’re a constant port of call.
There’s a dedicated woman’s worker within the team working specifically with women who, while they may not have a history of homelessness, do have complex needs. Women are referred to Julian House by partner agencies and services such as domestic abuse and Citizens Advice, and the charity works to ensure they get the support they need, attending meetings with them, making sure they know where to go for help and being the constant they can turn to.
The charity is always evolving. Julian House now has its own accommodation which it leases from the council, which currently houses three residents. A newly created role within the team will offer targeted support to people at risk of needing to sleep on the streets – catching them before they fall and giving them help to stay in accommodation.
Laura said: “We’re constantly responding to what people need. What we do can be challenging, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. People might not think they have the skills to work in this field but there are so many transferable skills. We encourage people with their own lived experience, in any shape or form, to join the team. The most important thing is the type of person you are – your beliefs and your empathy.”
Julian House operates more than 40 different projects, accommodation sites and social enterprises across South West England, including homeless outreach services, specialised support, an emergency access hostel and multiple training.
Mary Rose Court
Mary Rose Court offers not only a place to stay but also practical and emotional support for those who have experienced homelessness. The facility is a crucial step on the pathway taken by those looking to regain independence and get back on their feet.
Run by Home Group, the facility has 19 rooms in its main accommodation area and 26 rooms in ‘move-on units’ across Basingstoke. These are shared flats or houses which offer a greater degree of independence for those staying there.
Partners from across the Social Inclusion Partnership; the Julian House outreach team, May Place and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, make referrals which allows those who need it access to Mary Rose Court, where they can spend up to two years.
It’s not just about getting a roof over someone’s head. Support staff are available at the main facility seven days a week, with an out of hours emergency number available around the clock. Those staying in the move-on units are also offered support based on their own needs.
As Home Group Operations Manager Penny Diver explains, the support is tailored to individuals and their needs. She said: “It might be that someone needs support to maintain a tenancy, gain employment or to learn how to budget. Another person might need support with their mental health, or might benefit from support from specialist services around drug and alcohol misuse. It’s all centred on the person and what they need.”
Supporting people who have complex needs, and who may have experienced trauma in their lives, can be challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding.
Penny said: “When you can find your route in to really support someone, which can and does happen, it’s just phenomenal. People really get the bug for it.
“The team we have working at Mary Rose Court are brilliant and I really admire them. There’s a real variety of people who are drawn to work in this field, but what they all have in common is that they’re value-driven. They really care about people. And that’s why we do what we do.”
OneChurch (1CB)
OneChurch Basingstoke (1CB) plays a central role in the Social Inclusion Partnership. The group, which brings together a family of churches across the Basingstoke area, is often at the heart of the work going on to support the homeless locally.
The churches run the Night Light Winter Shelter and their team of street pastors offer direct support to those sleeping rough. They’ve helped create Basingstoke Foodbank and Community Food Link and also run a debt advice service and The Dwelling Place, a place where men who have been homeless have somewhere to stay before moving into permanent housing.
Andy Taylor, of Community Churches Connected, said: “There’s a real drive in Basingstoke to do good and being part of the SIP is a great way to harness that and to work closely with other agencies.
The scope of the work done by 1CB is broad. Many will have seen their street pastors out and about in the evening and overnight, approaching those who need help and support. Initiatives such as Basingstoke Foodbank and Community Food Link aren’t specifically there to help the homeless, but many homeless and vulnerably housed people benefit from their services.
The Dwelling Place provides a supportive community to those who previously had no home, with the aim of sustainable independent living in the hope of preventing people returning to the streets.
Through an umbrella charity, The Starfish Enterprise Trust Ltd, 1CB is also able to support organisations locally which help the homeless. By providing them with insurance, help with governance and more general support, the churches are able to help the community through these small, local projects, and currently support five projects in Basingstoke and the surrounding area.
Andy explains: “None of what we do – the debt advice service, The Dwelling Place, the shelters, and numerous other projects – requires any element of expectation that those who use the services will go to church or become part of the Christian community. It’s a simple desire to help.”
Prevention and support at Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
It is important to get help as early as possible if you are finding it hard to make ends meet. Our prevention and support team can help you to:
- understand which benefits you can claim
- apply for these benefits, including universal credit or housing benefit (if applicable)
- access budgeting and debt advice
- signpost to support services to help you with issues that might be impacting your housing situation
Two Saints
“A safety net for people in tough times”. Homelessness charity Two Saints helps those who are at their lowest ebb to start to rebuild their lives. In Basingstoke, the charity manages May Place, which has 20 rooms available with 24 hour support for those who have been homeless. The charity plays a vital part in the Social Inclusion Partnership, acting as a first step in breaking what can be a vicious cycle of homelessness, poverty and exclusion.
Service Leader at May Place Barbara Fisher explains: “Referrals come to us through the borough council or the Julian House outreach team on behalf of the council and we’ll then carry out our own assessment.
“We’re the first step of the journey for a lot of people. They’ll stay with us for between three and six months and we’ll work with them to help get back on their feet. It might be that they’ve been rough sleeping, or sofa surfing with friends and family or it might be that they’ve just had a couple of bad breaks and have fallen through the cracks. Whatever someone’s situation, we’ll work with them to not only get a roof over their head, but to really understand their own circumstances and situation.”
The team at May Place focus on each individual, building their skills and resilience and improving their health and wellbeing to get them ready for the next stage and their move towards greater independence. As part of the SIP, they’ll work alongside partners to signpost people to the best possible support, and help them rebuild.
Barbara said: “We often see people at their lowest ebb. The work we do can be very challenging, and every day is different. But it’s also very fulfilling. You’ve got to have a passion to work in this field, but if you have that passion the rewards are huge. Seeing people progressing and moving forward out of a situation which may have seemed impossible is the reason we do what we do. People can and do turn their lives around and that’s what makes it all worthwhile.”
Two Saints works more widely across Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton.
The Society of St. James
The Society of St. James has been making a significant impact on the lives of vulnerable individuals for decades. Established in 1972, the charity has dedicated itself to addressing the complex issues of homelessness, addiction, mental health, and poverty. Through a range of innovative programs and services, the Society of St. James has provided a lifeline to those in need across Hampshire.
A member of the Social Inclusion Partnership since its inception, the group works to support those experiencing homelessness and other social disadvantages by offering individual and comprehensive support and opportunities for personal development.
Some of the key areas of their work include:
- Housing Solutions: The society provides various forms of accommodation, ranging from emergency shelters to long-term housing options. This ensures that individuals have a safe and stable place to live while they work towards rebuilding their lives. The housing projects are designed to be more than just a roof over someone’s head; they are supportive environments that foster independence and growth.
- Addiction Recovery: The charity offers comprehensive recovery programs which use a holistic approach, addressing both the physical and psychological aspects of addiction. These programs are tailored to meet the unique needs of each individual.
- Mental Health Services: Mental health issues often go hand-in-hand with homelessness and addiction. The society provides a range of mental health services, including counselling, therapy, and crisis intervention. By offering professional support, they help individuals manage their mental health conditions and improve their overall well-being.
- Employment and Skills Training: Education and employment is a key focus. The charity runs various training programs that equip individuals with the skills needed to secure employment and to become self-sufficient. These programs range from vocational training to life skills workshops.
- Community Engagement: Building a sense of community and belonging is crucial to breaking the cycle of homelessness and addiction. The Society of St. James organises community activities and events which encourage social interaction and mutual support. These initiatives help to combat isolation and promote a sense of inclusion.
Stop Domestic Abuse
Stop Domestic Abuse is dedicated to supporting and protecting victims and survivors of domestic abuse and stalking across Hampshire. Their services are flexible and accessible, catering to both adults and children. They collaborate with perpetrators, the police, and other agencies to provide comprehensive support.
The charity offers a range of services, including refuge and community support, helping individuals navigate the criminal justice system and ensuring the voices of victims are heard. Their support is tailored to meet the specific needs and risks faced by each individual. They also provide educational and safety-focused session, both one-to-one and in groups.
The organisation was founded in 1977 as Havant Women’s Aid, in response to a need for a refuge for women and children in Havant, Hampshire. The first refuge, known locally as ‘Betty’s Refuge’ after the instrumental Betty Bell, opened in 1978. Initially run on a voluntary basis with a grant from Hampshire County Council, the refuge quickly became a well-known source of help. In 2018, we rebranded as Stop Domestic Abuse, extending our reach and increasing awareness. Today, we deliver accommodation and community-based services across Hampshire, Portsmouth, and Southampton, with our headquarters still in Havant.
Our services:
We provide safe living spaces in our 19 refuges for women and children who cannot stay in their own homes. Each refuge offers a homely environment with both one-to-one support and group activities. Our support groups allow participants to learn about domestic abuse, share experiences, and build lasting friendships. One-to-one expert support is available in the client’s home or another safe place, addressing complex issues and enhancing safety.
For children and young people, we offer services that help them understand their experiences and feel safe again, mitigating the severe impacts of domestic abuse. We also run the Up2U program, which works with individuals who admit to abusive behaviour and are committed to change. Prevention and early intervention efforts include training for professionals to understand the impact of domestic abuse and recognize signs, particularly targeting workers in the hair and beauty industry to support their clients effectively. Additionally, we provide specialist support to victims of stalking in Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight.
Proudly women-led:
Stop Domestic Abuse is proud to be a women-led organization, recognizing domestic violence as a gendered crime, with about 94% of our community-based victim services clients being women. We are committed feminists and strive to empower all victims—women, men, and children—to live lives free from domestic abuse.
Vision:
Our vision is a world without domestic abuse. We believe that addressing domestic abuse is everyone’s responsibility, and we work tirelessly to ensure victims are supported to recover and perpetrators are encouraged to change their behaviour. Each of our clients has a unique journey, and our services are designed to reflect and support their individual needs.
YMCA
The YMCA Fairthorne Group is a local community charity which works across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, delivering an array of support to over 40,000 children, young people and families.
In Basingstoke, the groups provides a large housing location, catering to those aged between 18 to 30.
There are more than 80 modern, furnished flats and a three-bedroom shared accommodation at the site, which is located near the city centre.
Here, young people are given the essential building blocks for a full and rewarding life: a safe home, acceptance, guidance, friendship, support with employment and studying, and access to real opportunities, offering the chance of a fresh start and a better quality of life.
They have access to confidential spaces where they can meet with agencies or family, a communal lounge, laundry facilities, large communal gardens, and regular social activities.
The YMCA Fairthorne Group works with the Social Inclusion Partnership in Basingstoke to support young people at risk of homelessness. Working closely with partners from across the SIP, they refer, help, and house young people in need of support in the borough.