How the Canaan Trust Helps Rebuild Lives
Who the Trust seeks to help
Street Homeless
The Trust is the first and immediate source of help for any individual, male or female, who may be Street Homeless. Being homeless can, and does, happen to anyone. Everyone deserves to be cared for, heard, and supported on their journey.
What can you do if you encounter someone you believe is homeless or in some need?
Initially, only if you feel safe, speak to the individual concerned. You could ask if the individual is OK or if they require help. Ask their name. If you learn that they need help/want help – ask them if they have been in contact with the Council or the Canaan Trust. Should they indicate that they have not, you can ask if they would like you to contact the Canaan Trust on their behalf.
Before contacting the Trust, it would be helpful if you could obtain the following information:
The individual’s name
Their mobile phone number if they have one
The individual’s age/date of birth (helps in later identification)
If possible – obtain information on where the individual is from
Provide a brief description of what the person looks like (hair colour/length; clothing; unique features).
Submit a Homeless Report:
You can submit a report by phone
Call: 0115 946 4903
(the office is staffed 24-7)
or alternately email us
Email: office@canaan-trust.co.uk
or even send a Facebook message to the Trust via its Facebook Page @longeatonhomeless
Holistic person-centred approach
The Trust recognises that simply focusing on a client’s purely physical needs is equivalent, for some complex cases, to putting a sticking plaster on a broken leg.
For many who are homeless yes the primary need is for a safe place to sleep and food to eat. But then, the individual needs to be heard, and their journey into homelessness needs to be understood. The issues which homeless individual shares are invariably complex, deeper, and many long-term. To truly enable and empower the homeless to address their issues and rebuild their lives calls for a holistic person-centred approach supporting the individual with their primary physical needs but in tandem supporting them with their physical health, mental health; and emotional wellbeing. The Trust supports the whole person so that they can achieve independent living back in the Community. To facilitate this holistic approach the Canaan Trust employs a professional counsellor working alongside the Trust’s Support Staff. This is the unique ethos of the Canaan Trust.
Currently, the Trust is only able to offer ‘residential support’ to individual male clients. For almost ten years the Trust has supported and cared for individual females and also families in a non-residential manner out in the community. The care and support provided for all, regardless of gender, sexuality, beliefs, or ethnicity has been the same – holistic, person-centred.
How the trust helps
Emergencies
No one chooses to be homeless. Losing one’s job, family or relationship breakdown, and physical or mental health issues are a few of the catalysts which can lead to an individual becoming homeless. Many individuals live on the verge of becoming homeless. Individuals and families potentially face losing their privately rented accommodation. Some clients may be struggling with debt. Individuals and families may be homeless or facing homelessness as they flee domestic abuse.
Many of these families turn to The Canaan Trust knowing that support and help are available 24-7, 365 days a year. The Trust cares.
Shelter
The Trust seeks to provide safe, secure and healthy supported accommodation for homeless men and women. To achieve this, it has two houses in Long Eaton and provides accommodation for 12 homeless men from 18 to 70 plus.
The Trust has purchased a property which it is seeking to refurbish and fit to provide parallel supported accommodation for females – it is hoped to have this available later in 2022.
The Trust is dedicated to enabling each client to rebuild their lives, enjoy achieving the best they can achieve and attain economic well-being, be healthy, stay safe and in all ways make a positive contribution to their lives.
Ultimately, the Trust seeks to enable all clients to successfully move on, and maintain themselves in a positive independent manner having rebuilt their lives.
Food Bank
The Cost of Living Crisis has affected the finances of many individuals and families. Balancing household budgets to cover the basics costs of the utilities (gas and electricity) as well as the increase in cost of food is challenging. Through the pandemic and now the Cost of Living Crisis the Trust has witnessed a significant increase in calls on its services and resources. The Trust is open and accessible for all, individuals and families, who are in need of its help and support.
The Trust is regularly having to go out to purchase supplies to supplement the food stocks which have been donated as sadly so many of our regular donors are equally impacted and are o longer able to donate as they have done in the past.
The Trust is here 7 days a week to assist any individual or family in need. The Trust is here to provide access to food, toiletries, and hygiene packs. It is fully accessible from 8 am to 8 pm every day to help anyone in need. The Trust can also assist with vouchers for the Long Eaton and Sawley Food Bank.
Teaching Unit
The Trust has its education facility which operates on a Person-Centred basis. For many clients, basic literacy and numeracy are significant barriers to their being able to lead independent lives.
The Trust has invested heavily in its education facility delivering a wide range of ‘Life Skills’ from personal hygiene, healthy eating (including cooking), budgeting, first aid, and sexual health. In addition, the facility delivers a Programme of ‘Employability Skills’ as well as Emotional Wellbeing sessions.
Addiction
Addiction is more than alcohol or drugs. Individuals’ lives can also be negatively affected by other addictions such as gambling, gaming and pornography.
The first step on the journey to recovery is recognition that there is someone there for you – Someone who cares, who does not judge.
Sadly, it is an assumption made too often that the homeless are alcoholics or drug addicts. They are not! But those who need support and care to help them address their issues.
Many individuals dealing with addiction have significant emotional or mental health issues, and while dual-diagnosis is ‘advocated’ in practice, many clients struggle to access appropriate mental health services.
The Trust supports individuals who have addictions to engage with appropriate professional services, providing Person Centred holistic care and support as they seek to rebuild their lives.
Hidden Homeless
Over 60% of homelessness is ‘Hidden’.
The ‘Hidden Homeless’ are individuals, male and female, as well as families who may not physically be on the street but their need is equally as critical.
The Canaan Trust seeks to safeguard and support any individual or family who may be sofa surfing, sleeping in inappropriate accommodation, being isolated from family, fleeing domestic abuse, or sleeping in a car/shed/tent.
The Trust ensures that anyone in need has a safe secure place to sleep, has access to food, and is supported to establish contact and engage with appropriate statutory services.
Abuse
Abuse
Individuals and families fleeing domestic abuse are a significant part of the ‘Hidden Homeless.
During the covid pandemic, the number of individuals (both male and female) and families who have felt trapped in abusive relationships increased significantly. These families turned to the Trust for help and support.
The Trust seeks to help to safeguard and support those impacted in this way helping them to connect and engage with appropriate services.
Poverty
The covid pandemic and steep increases in basic costs of living have affected the finances of many individuals and families.
Balancing household budgets to cover basic living costs can be challenging. For many families and individuals, debt and financial crisis are crippling and can result in the loss of secure accommodation or the danger of becoming homeless.
The Trust can help immediately by providing access to food, toiletries, hygiene packs and other essential products. Intervention at the earliest possible point in time is critical if debts are growing – every situation can be resolved if approached positively.
Seeking and engaging with help is the first and most critical step.
The Trust believes in preventing homelessness caused by debt.
The Trust is fully accessible 24-7, 365 days a year. The Trust is here to help.