ITV News Feature
November 2025
ITV News Visits Skywaves: Sharing Stories of Healing and Hope
This week, ITV News visited Turning Tides’ Skywaves House in Worthing to shine a light on how Turning Tides is transforming lives through a new approach to tackling homelessness. The news team came to speak with one of our residents, John, and our Project Manager, to learn more about how this pioneering service is helping people rebuild their lives with dignity, stability and support.
A New Kind of Home
Skywaves House isn’t a traditional homelessness hostel, it’s a place of healing and hope. The service provides safe, self-contained flats for people experiencing homelessness, combined with wrap-around care, including counselling, medical support and 24/7 access to our dedicated project workers. As ITV’s reporter James Dunning explained, “Skywaves House is thought to be one of the first in the country to combine independent flats with on-site support workers, counsellors and medical staff to help tackle mental health problems, addictions and unemployment.” This new model gives residents not just a roof over their heads, but the stability and tailored care they need to move forward into independent living.
John’s Story
During the visit, ITV spoke to John, one of our residents, who proudly welcomed the team into his new flat. “This is the space I’ve been given after years without a stable roof,” John said. “I’m such a different person within myself for having a space, having a bit of independence and a bit of trust.” After years of instability and declining health while sleeping rough, John described the impact Skywaves has had on his life: “My health deteriorated both mentally and physically… Sometimes I’d be wet and sleeping while I was wet. I was better off in custody than I was living in a tent. So now, you can see I’m a lot better off here.” John’s pride in his home and his progress is clear to see and it’s a powerful reminder of what safety, care, and trust can achieve.
Innovation Born from Compassion
Skywaves House can accommodate 21 residents, each staying between 9 and 24 months as they are supported to move on into more permanent housing. Every element of the service, from the building’s design to the staffing structure, has been built with homeless people in mind. Our Project Manager told ITV that by providing residents with their own space and on-site professional support, we’re already seeing significant improvements in wellbeing and long-term outcomes. “This facility has been built with homeless people in mind,” Paul Nann said. “By providing each person with a flat to live in, we’ll see improvements in outcomes. People can actually live their lives..”
Addressing a National Crisis
James explains that homelessness is a growing issue across the UK. On one autumn night last year, 795 people were sleeping rough in the South East, an increase of 19% from the previous year. The average age of death for a rough sleeper in England remains a tragic 45 for men and 43 for women. As local authorities continue to struggle with the rising cost of temporary accommodation, innovative projects like Skywaves House are proving essential in creating sustainable, compassionate solutions.
A Future Full of Hope
Skywaves House is more than a building, it’s a lifeline. It’s a place where people like John can begin to heal, regain independence, and rebuild their futures with confidence and care. We’re proud to see ITV recognising the importance of this work, and we’re deeply grateful to our supporters, funders and staff who make projects like this possible, with a special thanks to Worthing Homes and Adur & Worthing Councils for helping us make this dream a reality. “I can actually live my life,” John told ITV. “My life’s taking a step forward, and it can only go forward from here, thanks to Skywaves.” Thank you to James & Oli at ITV for coming down. We are delighted ITV were able to highlight the increasing homelessness issue we are facing and the bold steps we are making as a charity to help create pathways out of homelessness in West Sussex. Our charity values are; Ambitious, Compassionate, Collaborative, Accountable and Person-Centred. Skywaves House shows that we live by these values with everything that we do. This is how we strive to end local homelessness.
