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to people with life-disrupting problems |
Church Urban Fund Review, April 2009
Introduction
In March 2009, CCM was selected by the Church Urban Fund to be one of the projects to feature in a report as examples of good practice. This is the text of their report.
Crisis Centre Ministries
Crisis Centre Ministries is located in St Pauls, an inner city neighbourhood in Bristol. Although the area is currently the subject of urban regeneration, it is one of the most deprived areas in Bristol in relation to income, employment, education and health. The project was established in 1984 to offer support to people with life-disrupting problems and provide them with opportunities for change, with the aim of seeing their lives transformed. Shared by those running the project is the belief that 'God cares for the weak, the poor and the outcast - so the Church must be involved in caring for such people.'
The project works with people who often have multiple needs and have experienced issues such as poor physical or mental health, homelessness, addiction, debt, unemployment, crime and violence. In keeping with the project belief and ethos, those using the service are placed at the centre of everything the project does: 'They are a human being, not a set of needs. Their needs are only details, what matters is they are a person who needs to be treated as a person'. Taking a person-centred approach is deemed essential. As the project director states, 'for many people, knowing that you are loved and accepted for who you are is a life-transforming experience.'
Crisis Centre Ministries employs six members of staff and is supported by around 120 volunteers, all committed Christians, from a diversity of denominations and all supported by their respective church. In 'bringing God's grace and healing love to people with life-disrupting problems,' they have three key areas of work: the Wild Goose Coffee Shop, the LITE Course and Bridgehead Church.
The Wild Goose Coffee Shop
The Wild Goose Coffee Shop was established in 1986 to 'provide a space where people are welcome, where we can build relationships. It's not a project designed to get people off the streets or get them sorted or get them into treatment or whatever - the aim is to be friendly, to be welcoming and through relationships to find out where people are and find out what we can do together'. Today, around 250 people visit the shop each day where they are able to receive a hot meal, and volunteers are also on hand to offer friendship and support: 'We don't just give people a form and tell them to get on with it. Here we sit down with people and help them complete the form... take them to the appointments, go with them to all the appointments... and see it through.'
One woman, who has been attending Wild Goose for over a year, spoke of the significant role see believes it occupies in the local community:
'Vulnerable members of the community like the refugees, the homeless and mental health patients are often stigmatized. It is a place where people come together and discuss their differences. Without it the community would be at risk from some very vulnerable people going a bit crazy without the practical, physical and emotional, mental and spiritual support that comes from Wild Goose, it is a core service in the community'.
Whilst the intention is for Wild Goose to sell hot meals for a pound where people are able to pay and to provide food handouts for those who have no means, the current logistics of space and volume of clients means that it is more practical to offer hot meals to all, and people who wish to can give a donation.
The LITE Course
Crisis Centre Ministries also offers the LITE Course ('Lifeskills Initial Training for Employment'), which was one of the first of its type in the country. It was set up to benefit people in the coffee shop and those facing multiple barriers to employment. However, learners tend to be referred to the course by other agencies or recruited directly. A member of staff explained the reason for this shift in emphasis is because 'the majority of our clients have chaotic life styles. They are not ready for that yet.' The course is taught in small groups (maximum of ten learners), on average getting four to six people on each course. The only criteria for entry onto the course is; 'that you are 18 years old and motivated to move on with your life'.
Four modules are taught on the LITE Course covering practical skills such as cooking, nutrition, healthy living, budgeting and strategies to encourage learners' development in areas such as assertiveness training, goal setting and basic computer skills. In the final module, learners are offered a two week work placement. Learners are supported through their placements by a 'buddying' system: 'they get partnered up with a buddy and that buddy will work with them and be available to them for the duration of their placement.' This can be a positive and rewarding experience: 'one person did a work placement at Marks and Spencer, he got on very well and they liked him. They offered him a permanent job and he has been there five years now.'
In addition to the course content, staff ask each learner if they would like someone to pray for them. One staff member recounted, 'I once prayed for someone who wasn't a Christian and at the end he spontaneously prayed for me. I was quite taken by that... I think offering prayer communicates something about their value to us'.
The Bridgehead Church
The Bridgehead Church offers friendship, Christian encouragement, Bible study and prayer to anyone who wants to attend. Gatherings of the Bridgehead Church are held on Saturday evenings and provide what may be a first experience of Christian worship and teaching. While there are specific meetings with this focus, Crisis Centre Ministries overall provides a safe space for people to explore faith. As one client says, 'I always feel like it is a communion of Christ.'
Crisis Centre Ministries work in partnership and have established positive working relationships with a variety of agencies across the statutory voluntary and community sectors. For example, one of the specialist drug rehabilitation facilities will make places available to the project on a preferential basis because they know people recommended by Crisis Centre Ministries are ready to take this step in their lives: 'If people are not ready for rehab we don't push. So we have a good track record: when we refer people they tend to do very well, so our success rate is higher than the average because we are careful when we recommend it. We don't want to set people up to fail'.
In Bristol there continues to be many people who need the support that Crisis Centre Ministries provides. The project is responsive to this ongoing situation and hopes in the future to find larger more suitable premises, expand the content and capacity of the LITE Course and employ additional staff to co ordinate and develop the work of volunteers. All of this work continues to be rooted in and embodies the conviction that: 'As Christians we are called to the poor wherever the poor need us.'