The Ashley Foundation
November 2014
Official Newsletter
the TAFFY times
It has been a busy summer at The Ashley Foundation, for
both staff and residents, with the inter hostel annual crown
green bowls competition, barbeques, cooking projects, and
even the very popular ice bucket challenge. Please enjoy the
latest news from our organisation.
Inside this issue
Featured Volunteer .... 2
Funding success.......... 2
Annual Bowls
Competition ................ 3
Did you know…
Between 1 April and 30 June 2014, local housing authorities received
26,940 applications for housing assistance under the homelessness
legislation of the Housing Act 1996
Cookery projects
Life skills describe the skills that people need in order to live a
reasonably independent life. Practical life skills – those which relate to
managing the day-to-day business of independent living such as
cooking, cleaning, budgeting and engaging with services effectively are
an important part of our residents preparation for moving on. Here are
some of the cooking projects they have had fun with.
Northfold C.P. School’s
wonderful donation .... 4
Sector News ................ 4
Oak House BBQ .......... 5
The ice bucket
challenge ..................... 5
Special points of
interest
Annual Bowls
Competition at Stanley
Park
Check out our pages on
Facebook
www.facebook.com/
theAshleyfoundation
and our Twitter feed
Featured Volunteer— Joe MacKenzie
Joe is one of The Ashley
Foundation’s success stories,
having first come into contact
with us in January this year.
He had lived in Blackpool for
around seven years but
unfortunately after a
relationship breakdown he lost
everything. Joe says “I didn’t
think that it could happen to
me, I suffered a breakdown and
ended up in a hospital in Chorley. I was in a bad way”
He was then referred to us and was placed in the Oak
House hostel where he met Craig our manager. Craig
immediately put him at ease as Joe did not know what
to expect. He comments “Denise was assigned as my
support worker and she assessed my needs very quickly
and I settled into life in the hostel.
He went on “I helped out with the cooking and cleaning
to keep busy and the staff were very supportive of me. I
was there for four months when Jamie Painter
(Dispersed Housing Officer) came to see me, he could
see my confidence was back and said that I was ready to
transfer to one of The Ashley Foundation’s move on
apartments.
Joe loves having his own space again but knew he still
had the full support of the support staff as well. He did
so well that he started volunteering at our Homeless
Action charity shop on Cookson Street.
He says “The Ashley Foundation saved my life without a
doubt, I don’t know where I would be without them.
They give you so many opportunities if you are willing
to accept them.
Joe has certainly made the most of these opportunities
for which we congratulate him.
Wonderful news of triple funding success
We are please to announce that The Ashley Foundation has been successful in three recent funding bids. The contracts have
been awarded by Blackpool Council for the Provision of Accommodation Based Housing Related Support Service. Details of
the 3 Lots awarded are summarised below.
Lot 1 – Emergency Accommodation aged
16 years to 24 years.
Provision of accommodation from a safe,
secure and appropriately located building in Blackpool that will provide 4
emergency
accommodation beds for
young people who are homeless and at
risk between the age of 16 years and 25
years. The accommodation can be solely
for the purpose of providing direct access
emergency accommodation or be located
within an existing accommodation based
provision for young people. The service
will be expected to provide up to 15
hours support per week per service user. The target length of stay in the
accommodation will be determined by
the HSAT assessment, availability of
alternative accommodation and local
connection status.
Lot 3 – Supported Accommodation aged
18 years plus, which has been split
between 2 providers .
Lot 5 – Supported Accommodation aged
16 years to 24 years, which has been split
between 2 providers
Provision of a range of accommodation
from safe, secure and appropriately
located buildings in Blackpool that will
provide 70 temporary accommodation
beds for individuals who are homeless
and aged 18 years and above. The
accommodation can be either ‘selfcontained’ or ‘hostel type’ provision. The
service will be expected to provide
support to people with a varying range of
support needs providing an average of 8
hours per week support per service user.
A single unit rate will be paid which
assumes that the needs of residents will
be ever changing in that at any one time
some people will require more or less
support than others. The target length of
stay for this accommodation will be up to
9 months.
Provision of a range of accommodation
from safe, secure and appropriately
located buildings in Blackpool that will
provide 48 temporary accommodation
beds for individuals who are homeless
and
aged 16 years to 25 years. The
accommodation can be either ‘selfcontained’ or ‘hostel type’ provision. The
service will be expected to provide
support to people with a varying range of
support needs providing an average of 9
hours per week support per service user.
A single unit rate will be paid which
assumes that the needs of residents will
be ever changing in that at any one time
some will require more or less support
than others. The target length of stay for
this accommodation will be up to 9
months.
Annual crown green bowls event
Every summer the staff from The Ashley Foundation organise a crown
green bowls event for the residents of their three homeless hostels in
Blackpool.
This year the event took place at Stanley Park on a glorious hot summers
day, with over 30 residents in attendance. The hostel chefs had an early
start, not only doing the usual breakfasts but also the packed lunches for
the event. Billy Thompson, chef at Elm House commented “we had to get
a production line going to get it all done in time, then it was a case of
rounding everyone up to transport them to the venue” He went on “It’s
great to get everyone out together and this is a unique opportunity for
residents from the different hostels to get to know each other and perhaps
form new friendships”
Staff complete
first aid training
Karl and Jamie,Dispersed Housing
Officer, the winning team
The event was organised by support worker Sue Tweedle who plays for
the Strawberry Gardens club in Fleetwood and she ensured that the
official rules were followed to the letter. She says “It’s amazing how the
residents come to the event not knowing anything about the game and not
even sure if they want to play, but once they begin they are soon shouting
out instructions like experts!” She went on “It’s great to see the team
spirit forming among them and the wonderful camaraderie. Being out in
the fresh air does wonders for the residents”
The residents certainly echo these sentiments, Shaun from Oak House
commented “this is my first time doing something like this and I’ve had a
great day. I’m a qualified PE instructor but usually coach and referee
football; I would love to get the residents involved in more sports now”
Lisa for Holly House says “We got knocked out early on from the competition but it’s been good to come out and socialise with the residents from
the other hostels” The finalists were all from Elm House; Jamie and Karl
versus Rob and Paul which meant they retained the cup, something they
won’t let the other hostels forget!
A close decision for the
referee
Tactical discussions before
the next end
A great day was had by all!
3
The children of
Northfold Community
Primary school in
Thornton Cleveleys have
been very busy collecting
food donations for The
Ashley Foundation.
Northfold C.P. School’s wonderful donation
We have been
overwhelmed by their
kind hearted generosity.
We would like to thank
them and their head
teacher Mrs. Wilson.
Sector News - The power to help someone sleeping rough is in your pocket
How many times have you walked past someone sleeping rough and wished there was something you could do to
really help them? The StreetLink app is the only one of its kind and means that, no matter where you are, the phone
in your pocket is all you need to make a difference to someone on the streets.
It couldn't be simpler to use. Just open the app, fill in as much detail as possible about your location and the person
you'd like to help. StreetLink will then send the details to the relevant local authority so they can help identify the
individual and connect them with local support.
What's more StreetLink will follow up your alert to find out what happened and let you know the outcome.
Here is Ian's story:
“I was walking our dog in the local park and saw a young man fast asleep on a bench. He had a sleeping bag,
cardboard sheet and a bag of food and drink, but nothing else. I’d downloaded the app a few days before but this
was the first person I’d seen sleeping out, so I decided to let StreetLink know.
“The app was great, very intuitive and easy to use. About two hours after my report I was contacted by Midland
Heart and they met me at the park. The young man had moved on but they had a good idea who he was and that
they may already be working with him. The outreach workers said that StreetLink reports are really helpful
because sometimes people they’re helping just disappear and are hard to find. I haven’t seen him again since.
“The best thing about the app is that it’s with me all the time, and as long as I have signal I can quickly do something to help. I appreciate receiving feedback on what has happened because it gives you the reassurance that
you’ve actually made a difference to someone in need.”
Be prepared for the next time you see someone sleeping rough.
Download now
The app is free to download and is available for
both Apple and Android devices.
www.streetlink.org.uk
Source : Homeless Link 9th October 2014
Oak House Summer
Barbeque
Residents take up the ice
bucket challenge
A group of hardy souls from Oak
House decided that they were up for
the global phenomenon of the ice
bucket challenge. On a sunny day in
August they braced themselves for
the icy deluge. Not only did they
complete it, they also managed to still
be smiling at the end of it!
81 Abingdon Street
Town Centre
Blackpool
FY1 1PP
Phone: 01253 297200
Fax: 01253 626500
E-mail:
[email protected]
A place to stay.......
We have three hostels in the Blackpool area (Oak House, Elm House and Holly
House), as well as 28 move-on flats
Willow Lodge (9 units)
Hawthorne Lodge (6 units)
Cedar Lodge (5 units)
Birch Lodge (3 units)
Maple Lodge (3 units)
176/178 Watson Rd (2 units)
Registered Charity No. 1063208 /
Company No. 3366712
This will increase in the near future when Acorn Lodge is
complete adding another 6 units. We also have three
hostels in Blackburn (Union House, Islington House and
Canterbury House).
Birch Lodge
Opportunity and Support...
Here at The Ashley Foundation we don’t just offer a room,
food, heat and light. We also offer a safe and secure
environment.
Our aim is to empower individuals to develop the necessary skills through a
programme of high support and educational opportunities, which will enable
them to move into independent living and successfully sustain their own
tenancy.