Helping London’s Homeless This Christmas
Changing lives, one person at a time
SPEAR London is a British charity, helping people overcome the challenges of homelessness. They have a resettlement and tenancy support team, a health link service, and they assist people to learn and develop new skills for a better life.
Lisa Moodie is the Outreach Operations Manager who takes to the streets with her team to find and help people who are sleeping rough and who could benefit from the charity’s assistance.
The outreach teams go out in the early mornings and late evenings to find those sleeping rough, hoping to make connections and build trust, so together, they can agree a plan of action to get people the support they need, and eventually, to find them accommodation.
Lisa explains, “Sometimes people aren’t ready for accommodation right away. So, we make a plan for a pathway off the street. If they have a chaotic substance abuse problem, they may need to go to detox and rehab before they’re ready to go into accommodation.
“My team go out and do a minimum of two shifts a week during antisocial hours, trying to find people who are new to rough sleeping. We talk to them and try to help them agree a way forward.
