Recent updates
The latest news from our projects
-
Your compassion counts
An update for Safer off the Streets - Help Bristol's homeless night shelters
Jan 5 2017
~~Happy New Year and thank you for helping us keep the #SOSBristol campaign running over the Christmas period. We were delighted to see people were still donating on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
Our night shelters are free for clients to stay but they cost us £17 per bed per night. We also rely heavily on the good will of our amazing volunteers who give up their time to help people be safer off the streets. Over the Christmas week, Caring at Christmas run the Julian Trust night shelter. This year more than 900 volunteers took part, offering a minimum of four hours of their time. That is an incredible amount of compassion.
We have raised a little over £28k and would ask you to tell three of your friends, family or work colleagues about this campaign. Share our films: Two sides and Safer off the Streets where you can.
Thank you for your continued support.
-
Huge Thank You and a Happy New Year!
An update for Safer off the Streets - Help Bristol's homeless night shelters
Dec 29 2016
We hope you all had a wonderful festive break and are looking forward to the New Year!
Over the past week, we raised over £27k thanks to you, Bristol and the wider communities’ generosity. Reaching over £25k means we have enough to cover the average cost of the whole Bristol night shelter programme for three weeks.
That’s all down to your amazing support.
Your support helps keep a rough sleeper warm and safe off the streets while trained staff work and volunteers support them with longer term goals. The night shelters are just the beginning.
It looks like we will hit £30,000 in the next few days but please do keep sharing www.fundsurfer.com/SOSBristol with friends and family to help build the momentum of the campaign and help us reach our £100,000 target!
Your donation and support helps to make a direct change – thank you for your incredible support.
Wishing you a Happy New Year, from all at Safer off the Streets.
#SOSBristol
-
£25K by 25th!
An update for St George's Bristol Crowdfund
Dec 22 2016
Huge thanks to you all for helping us reach the first interim target of our crowdfund appeal..!
Having got off to such a flying start from our launch at the end of November, we set ourselves a first interim target to raise £25,000 by Christmas..
With the traditional sound of carols ringing around the hall in rehearsal for this evening's final Festive Fiesta concert, and the office closing for the festive season, it is fantastic to be able to confirm that this first target has just been achieved.
We will be updating you again in the New Year as we prepare for a busy spring season ahead, while finalising arrangements for the beginning of our building programme for the much anticipated new extension.
Details of our first ever Golden Season Ticket draw, for free entry to all St George's promoted concerts, together with further details of all of our rewards will follow in the next New Year update.
Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all at St George's
-
Album Update
An update for Original punk blues album by Bristol-based duo Husky Tones
Dec 22 2016
Hello Everyone, Thank you again so much for helping us make the album, I've just listened back to the final mastered copy again for the first time in a few weeks and it sounds incredible. Stuart Dixon did an amazing job. Proud of what the album is about. This is the press release. We will be doing something very special for the album launch week there will be a launch party in Bristol on the 25th at the Crofters Rights to which you are all invited then a 'tour' which reflects what this album is about to be announced in the new year. There are some videos on our youtube channel. The first proper playing of some of the tracks at the Fleece supporting BoB Log III a week ago went down a storm -right audience for us punk rock blues. Much love to you all Victoria and Chris x
Round The Wrekin
Momentum
Jungle Blues
One Good Reason
The Island Of Barbed Wire
I Worry About Nothing
Who Will I Turn To Now?
These Hips Were Made For You
Put Your Arms Around Someone You Love
Worlds End LaneRock, blues, punk and folk. These are the core elements of Husky Tones Who Will I Turn To Now? The album takes you on a journey with songs that scream and cry, and lush vocals drifting on a sea of heavy guitar riffs. Who Will I Turn To Now? combines songs of protest, despair and love, tales of the benefits system, climate of cuts, the disintegration of capitalism. As well as reference to modern day politics, it has historical roots with a ballad Island Of Barbed Wire . The song is about Victoria’s great uncle who was interned on the Isle of Man as a German Prisoner of war just for being a German living in the UK when war broke out. Married to an English woman the song tells their story. An expression of powerlessness in the face of terrifyingly sad global events, which is as relevant today as it was during WW1.
Having spent 2016 building a reputation for intense live shows at places such as London’s 100 Club and Blues Kitchen, Brighton’s Latest Bar and national UK festivals their modern and varied sound has won them many friends and fans around the country including having been played on BBC Radio 2 by Paul Jones.
-
Thank you and Merry Christmas!
An update for Safer off the Streets - Help Bristol's homeless night shelters
Dec 22 2016
From all of us at Safer off the Streets, we want to say thank you so much for all of your support so far. Your donations and campaign shares have taken us a long way already - following a cheque received today, we can confirm we have now raised more than a quarter of our £100,000 target! Thank you, your support has a direct impact to get people safe off the streets.
Whilst there may be two sides to Bristol you can feel proud to be on the one ensuring fewer people have to sleep rough in our city. Please give the campaign an extra boost by sharing our campaign films on Facebook and Twitter - "Safer off the Streets" or "Two sides".
Caring at Christmas update
This afternoon we are busy setting up to receive our guests over the Christmas weekend. With the help of our volunteers, who give up their time to provide a warm welcome to everyone, there is a real buzz about the place. It can be a very difficult time of year for many people and at the shelters we try and make it as warm and welcoming for all who stay with us.
Wishing you all a peaceful and wonderful weekend and for those celebrating, a very happy Christmas.
Shelter off the Streets
-
HELP REFUGEES - Greece Shelter project final 2016 report
An update for Help Refugees - #holidaysforgood - shelter campaign
Dec 22 2016
Hi All
It’s been a while since my last report that I sent out, after we had finished the fundraising campaign. As a quick reminder, in this last report, I explained that given the current situation and needs across what is undoutedly a globally connected problem, we had decided to shift the focus of our response to the refugee crisis, from France and Dunkirk, to Greece.
This decision was made in consultation with a number of people; those on the ground, those really informed as to what is going on, and Help Refugees, our charity partner.
Please find to follow a report on how we've spent the money we raised with you, and the impact it has had.
Project Aims and Objectives
The aim of the project was to provide shade and community spaces for refugees living in military camps in Greece. The initial projected output of the project was an increase in access to shade and respite from the hot sun, as well as access to spaces for communities to gather and conduct activities. Thanks to the creativity and agilty of our partner, Help Refugees we have been able to adapt to the ever-changing situation of the crisis and achieve more than
the initially planned outcomes.As well as constructing shade structures, the funding has also allowed us to build wooden floors for tents to protect families from cold floors, and produce upcycled wood burning stoves to provide heat and a way to cook food.
The project aimed to address the problem of refugee camps in northern Greece having no protection from extreme weather. The isolated camps leave refugees vulnerable to intense, searing sun in the summer and sub-zero degrees in the winter. This project has successfully met its aims to protect refugees from adverse weather conditions through the construction of shaded outdoor spaces, floors and stoves.
Shade
Help Refugees initially proposed to build four shaded structures in camps in northern Greece using the funds that we raised. In the summer months shade was identified as one of the greatest needs in the refugee camps. Three shade structures have been built in SK Market – Kalochori, Softex and Vasilika
camps in Thessaloniki. These spaces have been developed by the community and have transformed from simple shaded areas to become a Child Friendly Space (Softex), a school (Kalochori) and a community space for meetings and get-togethers (Vasilika).
The impact of these structures has been significant for communities living in the three camps.Shaded areas = 3
Wooden Flooring
Once three shade structures had been built in northern Greece, the volunteer construction team reassessed the needs in the camps to ensure that Sawday's funding was being spent as effectively as possible. They identified a huge need for wooden flooring. Families living in camps around Thessaloniki are mostly housed in tents inside large, vacuous abandoned warehouses. The concrete is extremely cold and families report that it is extremely difficult to sleep. Working with refugee carpenters, the construction team have fully installed wooden floors in two camps - Frakaport and SK Market – Kalachori. The team built approximately 15 floors a day in the Help Refugees warehouse. They limited installation of floors to 16 a day in camps, always finishing work at 3pm to allow families to set up their tents again before dark.
Kalachori camp = 86 tent floors (4m x 4m = 1,376 sqm)
Frakaport camp = 120 tent floors (4m x 4m = 1,920sqm)
Wood Burning Stoves
As well as providing flooring for tents, the team on the ground identified the need for providing a source of heat and way to cook. Most stoves are prohibited in camps by the Greek authorities however our team designed a safe, upcycled stove that was deemed appropriate for distribution by both the Ministry of Migration and the Greek military. The stoves are made using recycled car tire rims welded together. They produce a significant amount of heat and can also act as a stove for pots sat on top. This simple yet highly effective design is practically cost-free, the only expenditure being the welding and construction materials that were purchased using Sawday's funds.
Monitoring and Evaluation
In total, 3,300 people have had access to shaded spaces thanks to Sawdays funding. The construction of shade structures in the three camps have correlated with a decrease in community tensions and violence. Conversations with refugees living in these camps suggest that having a space outside of their tents provides a safe arena for productive activities, particularly for children. During the summer months, the shade structures also significantly reduced the number of children affected by severe sun burn. Prior to the shaded areas, all activities for children took place outside leaving them vulnerable to the sun. Mothers in the camps report a reduction in infections from sun burn in their children. The shade structures have acted as a flexible space allowing the community to adapt them to their needs. As the seasons changed, the spaces became extremely useful for communities to seek refuge from the rain and snow. They are now used as places to eat and also a space to dry their clothes.
824 people are now living in tents with flooring. The flooring installed in two camps has made a huge impact on their lives. Discussions with families have revealed that their children are now able to sleep. Our distribution teams have also noted a reduction inrequests for blankets and sleeping bags.
25 wood burning stoves have been distributed to refugee families. After distribution, refugees have told us that they feel a huge difference in their quality of life. Not only can they keep their families warm, but they can also cook food for themselves. We have adapted our Food Programme to include dry food so that families who have the stoves are able to use the ingredients to cook.
I think it’s fair to say that the world feels very fragile right now. There’s unforgivable suffering and poverty, wars raging and the gap in opportunity, as well as basic human rights, seems to be widening at an alarming rate.
Whilst others encourage thoughts of walls and borders, we need to work harder, with our owners and our wider community of guests, to make a difference to those far less fortunate than ourselves. Even if we can only help a few people, to make their lives a little bit better, then we believe that that’s our responsibility to do so.
Next year, we will continue to do our little bit, to make the most of the opportunity we have, to help. And to show others that businesses and communities like ours, have the potential to be a force for good. To do much more than just make a profit..
In 2017 we will allocate 5% of our 2016 profits to charity; supporting great projects and causes on an international, national, and local level.
From everyone at Sawday’s and Canopy & Stars and all of our owners, we would like to thank you all once more, for making this possible. We simply couldn’t have done it without your support and donations.
Best wishes
Tom Dixon
Managing Director
Sawday's Canopy & Stars -
We have sneaked past £20k - thank you
An update for Safer off the Streets - Help Bristol's homeless night shelters
Dec 19 2016
~~Over the weekend we have sneaked past the £20k benchmark and we are delighted to tell you we are approaching £22,000. Thank you Bristol and the wider community, your generosity and compassion is going to directly help people off the streets and into somewhere warm and safe.
Once we reach £25,500 we will have enough to cover the average cost of the whole Bristol night shelter programme for three weeks. That’s all down to your amazing support.
If you have viewed our film, Shelter off the Streets , you will have heard Ed Reed from Caring in Bristol talk about homelessness. He said: “Despite all of the hard work we are doing it’s still not enough. We need to try and do more. It’s too big for one person to deal with but it’s not too big for everyone in Bristol to deal with.”
Your donation helps to make a direct change. A night shelter is the beginning of longer term support from frontline staff and volunteers who really help people make a life away from the streets.
Please continue to share our films and the information about the #SOSBristol campaign. This is a really exciting and pioneering campaign as it is rare for four charities to pull together for one cause.
Thank you for your support.
-
From all at Safer off the Streets - Thank you!!
An update for Safer off the Streets - Help Bristol's homeless night shelters
Dec 14 2016
Wow – what a way we have come over the past few weeks! We are delighted by the support and compassion that is being shown by our Bristol Community. Thank you so much!
We have already raised over £17,000 online which equates to over 1,000 bed spaces for homeless people this winter! We are also hearing from lots of groups and individuals who are supporting us with fundraisers in the community too and we look forward to updating the total to include this in the coming weeks.
It certainly looks like we will hit £20,000 in the next few days but please continue to share the campaign with people – let five of your friends or family members who care about helping vulnerable people in our community know about SOS Bristol – it really will help to make all the difference.
If you haven’t seen the amazing '2 Sides of Bristol' video from Aspect Film and Video yet, please do watch and share it: http://bit.ly/2hwjMlh
An update for Caring at Christmas:
We’re overwhelmed by the generosity of people at this time of year, and have received a steady stream of food and clothing donations – not to mention two different children getting in contact to offer homeless people their Christmas money! Our efforts to sign up volunteers for the Christmas shelter are also going well, with over 500 volunteers from Bristol and beyond taking up shifts to help us run our Christmas shelter. But we still need more, particularly for our evening shifts. If you’re interested in helping out, please check our webpage. In a touching gesture yesterday, a local 12 year old girl got in contact with us yesterday offering to donate her Christmas present money to homeless people.
Bristol News:
You may have read that on 24 November St Mungo’s coordinated the annual street count of people sleeping rough in Bristol. Whilst the official figures now show a 27% reduction of people sleeping rough, we need to remember that this new figure of 74 people on this night is still too many and does not take into account some of the people we know to be sleeping rough who were not visible on this night. It is just a snap shot, which clearly shows far too many vulnerable people on our streets.
The two main reasons for people to start sleeping rough are relationship breakdown and eviction. Relationship, debt, job or tenancy issues are the early warning signs that could lead to rough sleeping. If you are anyone you know are having problems, get advice and guidance early.
St Mungo’s are running an auction which you may be interested in viewing which ends on 15 December – happy bidding!
Thank you again from all at SOS Bristol!
-
Shelter at Blue Monday 2017!
An update for Blue Monday 2017
Dec 13 2016
Shelter helps millions of people across the UK every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through our advice support and legal services. And we campaign to make sure that one, no one will have to turn to us for help.
We provide people with the best possible help to solve their housing problems. Free accessible advice is available in our face-to-face advice Hub in Bristol, on our website and via expert advisers on our helpline.
Support the Blue Monday event by pledging to support #BlueMondayBris on Fundsurfer.
-
Talking Money at Blue Monday 2017!
An update for Blue Monday 2017
Dec 13 2016
Talking Money has dedicated its mission to, “improving lives by tackling financial problems,” since 1990; empowering people to take control over their lives.
We work in Bristol and the surrounding areas to increase financial inclusion through supporting people with accessing benefits, reducing debt and expenditure and tackling arrears and fuel poverty.
We meet people every day who face many challenges like sickness, old age, disability and even sudden changes in life like divorce and finances can simply be an extra stress.
We aim to be there for people in those times, helping them find long lasting solutions. As one service user said, “I came having had no sleep, distressed, anxious about money and housing issues. I left in control of my situation rather than being controlled by it.”
Support Talking Money & others by pledging to support #BlueMondayBris on Fundsurfer.