Regional examples

Employing workers with a personal experience of homelessness

Agencies across the country have been employing people with a personal experience of homelessness for many years. These pages will collate case studies and regional examples featuring organisations that employ current and former service users. We hope to bring you examples from each of the English regions, and beyond. If your organisation would like to be featured on these pages please contact beth.coyne@thamesreach.org.uk

NEW: Rochdale Petrus Community

Rochdale Petrus Community has launched a new Rough Sleepers Service staffed by people with personal experience of rough sleeping.

Client Employment - Real Service User Involvement

The first case study featured here is courtesy of Porchlight, in Kent.

Partnership working - Foundation Housing

Read about Foundation Housing's work in the GROW Yorkshire Partnership case study.

Client Volunteering - a day centre's experience

The Passage day centre in Westminster have kindly contributed a case study about their client volunteering programme

Client Volunteering - BCHA's experience

BCHA have developed a structured volunteering programme for clients and community.

Framework Housing Association

Framework in Nottingham have an ambitious and successful traineeship programme - WISE. Read more here about what makes it work.

London Partnership

Six major London agencies have formed a partnership to work together on implementing client employment and opportunities across London. See partnership working - London for more information.

Photo of Thames Reach's senior management team

Thames Reach's senior management team, from left: John Crowther, director of operations, Bill Tidnam, director of housing and community support, Chris Smith-Gillespie, director of finance and central services, Jeremy Swain, Chief Executive

"GROW has been inspired by models in New York, where user employment is far more commonplace, and we see potential benefits for all concerned.

"Thames Reach is prepared to put its money where its mouth is and give real jobs to people who have been homeless. We need to ask ourselves; "if we aren’t, why should we expect other employers to do so?"

John Crowther, Thames Reach Director of Operations