Pret High Holborn, 240

Our supported accommodation services give homeless and vulnerable people the specialist support they need to find stability and move on in their lives. In 2019-20 we provided more than 1,200 homeless adults, care leavers and young people at risk with a safe place to live. We also supported a total of 393 people in our cold weather shelters in North London and Redbridge. As well as providing secure accommodation, these services offer intensive 1-1 support to tackle the underlying causes of homelessness. Each hostel specialises in meeting one of four priority needs: mental health, substance misuse, offending or the needs of vulnerable young people, including those leaving care. Keeping someone off the streets is only the first step. To break the cycle of homelessness, our accommodation services focus on equipping people to move on with their lives and achieve sustainable, long term recovery. We do this by: Minimising harm from substance misuse and helping people to access appropriate treatment Supporting people with mental ill health who are leaving hospital or facing exclusion from other services Supporting young people to develop the skills they need to live independently Working with people leaving prison to break offending patterns and re-integrate them into the community Enabling all clients to grow in confidence and develop appropriate life skills Most of our hostels are staffed 24 hours a day by support workers who are committed to providing a stable and secure environment for clients as they work with them to address their needs. Typical lengths of stay vary by service, from four weeks to up to two years. Many of our hostel residents are struggling with more than one need at a time, including poor physical and mental health. Our hostel staff have been trained in Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE), ensuring that our hostel-based work takes account of the persistent effects of adversity or trauma on our clients, and their resulting psychological and emotional needs.

We are a group of dedicated volunteers who help out at a weekly soup kitchen in Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn, London, every Sunday at 6.15-8pm where we distribute food to 100-110 of the most vulnerable members of society. The soup kitchen is held within two minutes walk of Holborn station. We provide our guests with a hot meal (meatballs and rice/vegan lentils and rice), a sandwich (usually a selection of meat/fish/vegetarian/vegan is on offer), a piece of fruit, dessert, water, tea/coffee and any other items which volunteers personally fundraise for and bring including toiletries, clothes, tinned food etc. We also provide for individual needs, where possible, including sleeping bags, footwear etc to help guests through difficult times. It has been through our volunteers' dedication and commitment that we have expanded and found donation streams to ensure our continued success. What started off as a distribution where homemade sandwiches were distributed has grown to allow guests to leave with 2-3 days worth of food. We are the only soup kitchen which attends the site every Sunday, 52 weeks a year, this includes Christmas Day and New Year's Day. And we are one of very few that offer meat to our guests, our guests also have an option of halal food every week.