Supported

Living

Supported more than 400 young people and people living with mental ill-health supported

Supported more than 100 adult survivors of domestic abuse

Supported almost 200 child survivors of domestic abuse

More than 6,500 instances of support provided

Spotlight on the Exeter Foyer

Our Foyers aren’t just a roof over a young person’s head. They provide workshops, specialist support, training, and education and employment opportunities. The support from our staff enables young people to gain confidence, resilience, and self-determination.

In Exeter and Poole, we support young families and have designated rooms suitable for young people and their children.

Over the last year, Exeter Foyer housed four young families and 59 young people. They have also helped 14 customers into education and training, as well as fourteen into employment.

Ready, steady, cook

Working with Venner, a social enterprise company, we’ve been delivering some cookery sessions with young people at the Exter Foyer.

Colleagues from our Neighbourhoods Team joined our Supported Living team to hold a ‘ready, steady cook’ night, demonstrating how to cook some easy, delicious meals. Each team taking part received a box of ingredients and, with the help of an app, was challenged to create a meal to share.

Two brothers who took part enjoyed it so much they have now committed to cooking a meal together each week using fresh ingredients.

Swindon customers join Big Dog Art Trail to raise money for charity

In Summer 2023, Customers at Bow Court joined the Swindon Big Dog Art Trail. They fundraised to buy their Swinpup model, and used their artistic flair to decorate it. The Bow Court Swinpup was added to the collection of 72 dog sculptures that became part of a walking trail around Swindon that helped raise an astonishing £165,800 for Julia’s House Children’s Hospice.

The Bow Court customers’ initial target of £500 was smashed as they raised nearly £700 through special events to buy their Swinpup. Sponsored walks, dance-athons, cooking events, cake sales and more helped them to reach the target and have a lot of fun along the way.

After the Big Dog Art Trail, the Swinpup made a triumphant return to Bow Court, where it is proudly on display as a memento of their creativity and generosity.

“It was really good; I liked painting the dog. I got to dress up as the Red Ranger when we were dancing.”

Shaun the Sheep inspires children from the Brighton and Hove Refuge

Like all our dedicated colleagues across our Supported Living schemes, the team from the Brighton and Hove Refuge is always looking for ways to keep everyone who lives there engaged and connected with each other and the community.

Last year, kids at the scheme got creative for the Martlets Hospice Shaun the Sheep Art Trail, designing and painting their own model of the popular TV character.

The team from the refuge were able to help the kids raise money to buy their Shaun model, with donations coming from colleagues across Stonewater to reach the magic £150 they needed.

Once decorated, Shaun was taken to a local library and put on display.

Nicola Lambe, Head of Specialist Services at Stonewater, said:

“Activities like this are vital in making sure children and their parents are able to build confidence and have fun after facing some incredibly difficult experiences before arriving at the refuge.”

The Brighton and Hove Refuge team had several other successes with raising money for activities and support that customers living there might not have had access to otherwise, these included:

  • Christmas donations via an Amazon Wishlist they received more than 1,000 parcels including essentials and gifts for the children
  • A Christmas tree from a local farm
  • Vital food and hygiene product donations from local retailers
  • Sanitary products from HeyGirl
  • A Halloween celebration with support from Tesco

Nicola added:

“Everyone at the refuge is incredibly grateful for the support they’ve received. People often arrive at refuges with nothing but the clothes on their back and this kindness from individuals and businesses alike helps them to rebuild their lives”.

Brighton and Hove Refuge is also helping to drive research into the link between brain injuries and domestic abuse, which could be vital in supporting people in need in the future.