A Letter From The Chief Executive (October 2009)

Dear Supporters,

It has been a busy year for both the Mary Cole House and the Arkangel dispersed houses on many fronts.

Although the new Pathways model introduced by Supporting People is not yet officially up and running, many providers including ourselves are now working with it and embracing the ideas of joint working and a seamless service for our clients as they journey through from homelessness to their own property. Our chief ally is Birkenhead YMCA who are next to us on the pathways model. We have joint staff meetings, share resources, swap staff, and generally work closely together to get the best possible outcomes for our joint clients.

Our Arkangel dispersed houses continue to offer clients semi independent living, an important stepping stone to maintaining their own tenancies.

Work on our long awaited training extension is now underway; the ground is cleared and walled off, the floor is in and the walls are starting to go up. Depending on the great British weather, we are hoping to be in by the first week of February. We are planning the use of the area which will primarily be for training, both for clients and staff, and into this we are hoping to encourage rough sleepers to come and use the facilities while they await a bed. Other community groups have already expressed interest in using it.

Our Social Enterprise, Wirral Ark Dinghies, goes from strength to strength with many clients from The Ark and other projects benefiting from the time they spend down there repairing and restoring Mirror Dinghies. We are always looking for more boats and volunteers, so if anyone can help in either area, then please contact Bob Jarvis on 0151 651 2200.

Christmas will soon be here and we are planning the festivities for our clients, many of whom have never had a proper Christmas in warm and secure surroundings. A Christmas party is planned, the traditional Christmas meal on the day itself, and as usual our volunteers will be wrapping presents for all our clients to open. If anyone would like to help out over the festive period, then please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Irene Kennedy, either by phone or via the Contact Us form on this site.

Many thanks as always to our supporters, and please contact me through this site or by phone if there are any queries.

Sincerely,

Anne O'Marah
Chief Executive