Turning Tides launch Frontline Appeal
August 2022
As homeless numbers rise, Turning Tides are calling on the community to help protect its life-saving frontline services
Turning Tides have launched a crucial appeal to secure the future of its frontline services. We are reliant on public support for the continuation of our services, in particular our vital hub services, which provide life-saving support to people who are homeless and having to sleep rough. The number of people homeless in England is predicted to jump by a third within the next two years. Councils are warning there will be a “tidal wave” of need caused by benefit freezes, soaring food and energy bills and the end of Covid eviction bans.
We fear that at this critical time, when demand for our services has never been greater, we may not be able to operate the hubs and provide the support people depend on.
Our hubs and dedicated keyworkers are our ‘frontline’ – ensuring we can support anyone that needs our support. They are the place where people arrive in despair and receive emotional and practical help, the crucial beginning of a pathway out of their desperate situation. These are extraordinary places of practical support, comfort, acceptance and shared resilience. They transform lives and, without doubt, they save lives. For all these reasons, our services are more important now than ever. We are asking for help to continue our frontline services, so we don’t let the people who need us down.
“SLEEPING ROUGH … I HAVE BEEN THROUGH HELL AND BACK … IF THE COMMUNITY HUB HAD NOT BEEN OPEN THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT OF DEATHS.”
Over the years, thousands of people have depended on support from Turning Tides, something which Claire Halford-Dale, Worthing’s Hub Manager is only too aware:
“It takes a lot of courage for anyone to ask for help. A lot of people that come to us are really at their lowest ebb, they often feel physically and emotionally exhausted – the toll of sleeping rough in all weathers. Every single person that comes to us is different, how they became homeless is different and consequently how we support them is different. It is vital everyone is understood as an individual with their own needs and circumstances.
The one thing they always receive here is a warm and caring smile. To know they don’t have to go through the trauma of homelessness alone – that we are always here to help. We are sometimes the only constant in their lives. I am in no doubt our services have saved lives, especially during the pandemic where isolation really took hold. These are places where people who have nothing at all can finally get the help they need and we need them more than ever.”
To find out more and to donate, please visit our Frontline Appeal
