Abbotswick House

 A large proportion of the work carried out at Anchor House is by necessity very practical focusing on accommodation and life skills learning as well as providing therapeutic and recreational opportunities.  There has to be a place sometimes outside all this activity for an individual to find a space for peaceful reflection and spiritual rejuvenation.

On their return from Abbotswick the residents were asked to share some of their thoughts, views and feelings during their trip and below are some of what was said:

Evelyne wrote “Words cannot express how I feel but all I can say is thank you so much for the lovely time.”

Jon wrote “It was so nice to finally get some quality time to relax.”

“Never felt so happy”, Thomas

“Wonderful, experience of a lifetime”, Roderick

“Three days in Heaven, we explored universes few dare to”, Santos

“Amazing experience – life makes more sense now”, Slavka

Chanelle wrote ‘It helped me rejuvenate my life and have a positive outlook on things. It was good to get to know everyone better.’

This was a new venture for Anchor House and after the residents positive reaction we would like to think that this will become an annual event.

When Delis arrived at Anchor House, he wanted to continue to making a positive contribution.    He began by volunteering within Anchor House which rekindled his appetite for involvement. But in his words, he “wanted to do something for people in far more need than himself”. 

So, he approached the local Volunteering Bureau and became involved in some introductory projects and then recently he spent a week decorating a refuge for families escaping violence in the home and he explained “It made a real difference to the youngsters and it made me want to get up every day and get stuck in.  They’ve been through so much and have seen things no child should see.  So making their place a little nicer was a real thrill.”  Delis takes a great amount of pride in his work, returning to a project for an extra day just to ensure the decorating work he’d done was finished to a high enough standard.

Delis was really pleased to have been able to make such difference and was overwhelmed when he was invited back for a special meal as their way of saying thank-you.

He has found that his volunteering work has inspired him to persue a career in youth work and is planning to gain the necessary qualifications. He also wants to pass on the volunteering message to others, hoping that his story will inspire others to join in.

The Charity Times Awards are designed to recognise and reward excellence in the management and co-ordination of all charitable activities. This aim is enforced by the make-up of the judging panel, which represents the leading figures in the UK charity sector, and thus ensures the highest possible standards are set for the most prestigious awards ceremony in the charity calendar.

The winners will be announced on 1st September 2010 at the Awards Gala Dinner.

 If you have been inspired and would like to get involved in the adidas Women’s 5K Challenge on Sunday 5^th September for Anchor House please contact Anne Cooper on 0207 476 6062 or click here.

As a ‘Customer Service’ finalist in recent Business Awards, Colin Dodd is now demonstrating his skills and accreditation in Anchor House, assisting residents to progress along their chosen career paths, reaching their aspirations and gaining employment. 

Colin Dodd, with his finalist award from the Barking and Dagenham Business Awards

Colin was awarded the prize at the Barking & Dagenham Business Awards 2010, for his great work with his company Altogether Construction Personnel Ltd, sponsored by Bouygues Development. Colin is based at Anchor House three days a week to support residents to enter employment, specializing in construction but also available to help in a wide array of commercial sectors, such as retail, wholesale, as well as self-employment.

We hope that with Colin’s support a large number of our residents will get back in to work this year.

Last week, eleven residents from Anchor House and three members of staff visited for a 3-day break. A programme was designed to enable each individual to be given time to reflect, to think about their lives and to help them look at things differently.   All that was asked of them was to respect their surroundings, respect the other people in the house, respect themselves, and to participate in the sessions.

It appeared that many of the group had little in common and were passing acquaintances in Anchor House. However, these differences did not act as barriers – in fact quite the opposite. Their differences became topics of conversation and they began to see qualities in each other that had always been there but had gone unrecognized, and we witnessed bonds of friendship developing. There was an openness and trust amongst the group and a willingness to embrace new ways of thinking and doing things.

Sometimes you cannot quantify a feeling or experience and capture it on paper – it is indefinable and that’s what appeared to be happening within the group in some of the sessions. We hope that over the coming weeks the group, through their shared experiences, will have the confidence to make any necessary changes that could enhance and enrich their lives.

As a staff group we should feel very proud of our ambassadors who represented Anchor House, as I know that through their exemplary behavior they have left a lasting impression on the Sisters of Abbotswick.

Tara, one of our residents, said of the trip “I experienced so much in such a short period of time, and I hope to keep with me what I have learnt and gained at Abbotswick”

Eve O’Keefe, Course Co-ordinator

The group taking part in a Relaxation Session, led by Eve O'Keefe.

A week ago Maurice Price attended a three day conference and workshops of practioners from across caring professions.  Hosted at Liverpool Hope University it brought together people from medicine, universities, carers, prisons, community mental health services and supported housing. 

Maurice says, “It was really refreshing to be able to discuss issues that cross so many fields and to see how others are addressing the similar problems from a different perspective.  For example in medicine they are currently coming to terms with the notion of Autonomy. This is the right of patients to make decisions about their medical care without their health care provider trying to influence the decision. Patient autonomy does allow for health care providers to educate the patient but does not allow the health care provider to make the decision for the patient.

The issues are similar to the ones we face around Personalisation.  This is where the “client” structures their own care and support in the community…advised by the professionals they work with.

For both sectors this means a real change in how we look at the relationship with those that use services; moving away from people having to find the service that is the most acceptable “fit” for them to ones where they are built round them.  Obviously we all “sign up” to this but making it happen in practice can be a bit harder.

One of the best outcomes of the conference was Professor Bart McGettrick from the University has set up a network of professionals to be able to call on each other to discuss and explore the ethical issues that our work throws up.  I’m looking forward to this having a real, lasting and positive impact on our work at Anchor House.”

Prof Bart McGettrick, Dean of Education at Liverpool Hope University

Right in the middle of the World Cup and Anchor House Residents got the best of presents.  Nike have provided us with two full kits for the team and a dozen premiership standard balls.  They even topped it off with training tops for while the team are waiting to compete. 

“The team really looks the part now.  You can see it’s really raised their confidence having such a smart kit.  They look so professional now”, said Tara, one of the residents.

To mark the occasion they also changed the name to the “Anchor House Warriors”.  This is a link back to local history.  HMS Warrior was the first fully armoured battleship in the Navy and was built here in Canning Town in 1860. 

It was with real pride that the team strode off to their latest competition in a London-wide league the same day.

The nurse will be providing advice, signposting and referral to appropriate drug and alcohol treatment services for residents of Canning Town and the local area, with a private meeting room available for the nurse to carry out assessments and maintain confidentiality. The aim is to have this service open to everyone, and to create an atmosphere where people do not feel stigmatized for approaching or talking about any concerns they may have for themselves or someone they know.

Residents of the community are invited to this drop-in service, and will be seen on a first come first served basis.

“This is a really exciting new partnership for Anchor House”, says Maurice Price, Head of Personal Development.  “It builds on our existing work and partnerships with Alcoholics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous: giving the local community access to a service without stigma.  DASL are the ideal partner with their outstanding reputation for engaging with difficult to reach drug users.”

 This service will be held every Friday from 25^th June 2010, between 12noon – 3.30pm at:

 Anchor House

81 Barking Road

London E16 4HB

 For information please contact Anchor House on 0207 476 6062.

Those of us on the front line have now seen the fomula for the funding services reduced by £5.8m, previously the former Supporting People budget was woefully underfunded by at least £10m pa and the Borough that has Inner London characteristics is designated as an Outer London Borough.

Whilst we all recognise the need for economy, the front line services in Newham have been hit by the statisticians scalpel, this is not the way forward. Did they ask the NHS how many patients are registered in the Borough? Did they ask DWP how many people are registered for employment in the Borough? I understand that the birth and death statistics point in another direction!

I would like to invite the Office of National Statistics to come and meet with some of us working in the Third Sector, my phone number is 0207 476 6062