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Introduction

Crisis Centre Ministries - generally known as 'The Crisis Centre' - is a local charity based in Bristol, England. Please don't confuse us with Crisis, the national homelessness charity!

We are open throughout the year, providing a Christian response to the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable adults in our society - those who have been termed 'street people' and whose lives have been greatly affected by issues such as homelessness, addiction, unemployment, crime and violence.

Job Advert

Applications are invited for the post of Project Manager for Crisis Centre Ministries' drop-in centre/coffee shop, The Wild Goose.

37.5 hours per week, salary £15,000 pa

The successful applicant will be a Christian, committed to a local church, and have personnel/management experience and an interest in Christian social action, specifically among the poor and disadvantaged.

Closing date for applications is 27 June 2003.

For further information and application pack, please get in touch with Paul Hazelden, General Manager.

Hopes and Dreams

The ministry has been based in our building at 12 City Road since 1986. The premises have served us well, but are now very inadequate for the work we are trying to do in them.

The basic options seem to be either we extend to the side or the rear of the current premises, or we need to move to some more suitable premises. Either way, it is likely to cost a great deal of money. We need a great deal of prayer for wisdom to know which way to go, and for the right premises to be made available.

In the long run, it would be good to have at least two sites - one in St Paul's as the main point of contact, and one a bit further away from the drug dealers, to provide a healthier environment for those who are 'clean' and wishing to stay that way.

Training Review

One of the difficulties of running a 17 week course is that people who are interested in joining often have to wait a long time before the next course starts. To overcome this difficulty, Andy started to run the course on a ‘carousel’ basis, with people able to start at the beginning of any week. This proved to be a mixed blessing: it was harder to create a ‘team spirit’ with people joining every few weeks, and the lack of a gap between courses made it hard for Andy to spend time documenting what was done and recruiting new people.

We decided to ask Andy to undertake a major review of the course, starting in April 2001. A great deal has changed since we started running the LITE Course 11 years ago. At the time, we were one of the few places in the country where such training was available; now, many groups offer some form of basic skills training. So we needed to know if there is still a need for us to run the LITE Course.

Andy spent several months researching this question, with both our customers and other groups in Bristol. What other basic skills training is available in Bristol? What does it cover? What are the restrictions? Who can access it? Who really does make use of it? Is there a ‘gap in the market’ - something our customers need, which they will not get somewhere else? And, if there is a gap, how can it best be met?

To cut a long story short, we believe there is considerable need for basic skills training for our customers, but it can best be delivered in a much more modular fashion. Instead of asking people to commit themselves to a 17 week course, they sign up to a module that lasts between 3 and 5 weeks. Each module has a distinct focus, so people can sign up for the modules which are relevant and helpful to them. And they get a sense of achievement as they complete each module.

The updated LITE Course started in September 2001, so it is early days yet, but looking good.

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