Most of you will know that we have supported CARIS Camden, and its C4WS project for several years and you will be familiar with what C4WS does although you might not guess what that is from the name; it stands for Camden Churches Committee for Cold Weather Shelters and it’s important to appreciate that although CARIS is a creation of the Anglican North Camden Deanery, the churches providing the shelters are of all denominations, and while the volunteers are often from the parishes concerned, many are not, and not churchgoers at all. One of the most encouraging features of the project is the way it marshals Christian good will across the divides and involves non believers in a Christian enterprise, which does demonstrable good.
The shelters continue to provide a hot dinner, bed and breakfast to now 16 guests each night. As important as bed and board, they are made welcome and feel part of an, albeit transient, community (the idea is to get them out of the shelter and into more permanent accommodation a soon as possible. Of longer term importance is the welfare help they will receive and the majority of our staff’s time is spent working with the guests to identify the causes of their problems and direct them to help, fixing up appointments, arranging papers and generally advising and encouraging. We also provide English language tuition where needed, and when setting ex-guests up in their own accommodation, advice on cooking and nutrition, and the pots and pans, bedding etc. On Friday lunchtime we run a Lunch Club with Kings Cross Methodist Church (but supported and manned by various local businesses). This runs in parallel with the Shelter but is open all year, providing lunch and welfare advice but not accommodation.
The most significant development recently has been our Jobs Club based in our new premises at St Pancras Church House, just across the road from Euston Station. We have always tried to help Guests to find work, but this has become more vital recently as many, notably the many migrants from EU countries are not entitled to any state benefits, so finding employment is vital. The Jobs Club also helps prepare those guests for whom we have found accommodation, to take the next step of finding work to support themselves.
The club works through mentors, each guest being allocated someone to help take them through the programme we have devised using a bank of laptops in our new meeting room. This programme takes the form of a toolkit workbook written by our staff (and already being copied and used by other shelters- a plagiarism which we welcome!) Preparatory material leads to the construction of a CV and then applying for jobs and/or registering with agencies. We have the advantage of an excellent tutor from North London University who teaches guests how to behave at interview and how best to present themselves. We also have a wardrobe of clothes that can be borrowed to make the best impression at interview.
So far this year (in six weeks) 13 guests, mostly young men, have attended 36 appointments with mentors and the majority are working through the Workbook with about half having created their CV, and most have registered with Employment Agencies. We have been able to place about three quarters of those who want it in voluntary work, and most importantly, overall, half of those who want and have actively sought a paid employment have found it.
We are very grateful for the support we receive from St John’s; I hope you will agree that it is put to good use.
Andrew Penny, Chair of Trustees, CARIS Camden.
CARIS Camden – C4WS
Andrew Penny