Rebecca, who joined our Richmond Rough Sleeper Outreach team in August 2022, explains how educational her role has been. As an Outreach Worker, she supports people to reclaim their lives and get housed.

“This job has been very educational, I’m always learning.

I’ve grown a lot since I started, in just four months! I learned how to listen to people without judgement. I don’t think people see homelessness as the complex thing it is, it is very nuanced and multifaceted.

SPEAR offers fantastic support and I like what we offer in terms of tenancy support, which is very important as without support it can be really challenging for someone who has been rough sleeping to maintain a tenancy.

Not many people realise how complex homelessness is. It is so complex and everybody’s story is so unique, as well as the personal barriers they face when trying to overcome issues. I often find that people struggling with substance abuse don’t think they deserve help – these people touch me the most.

Recently, I supported two people who were sleeping rough to get accommodation, one into a shared house and the other into a rough sleeper initiative flat – it’s the part of my job I love the most! They had both been sleeping rough for months – one of them had been living on the streets for ten years. He is now really engaged and is a part of SPEAR’s Peer Mentoring programme – he really wants to become an Outreach Worker.

I feel privileged to have played a tiny part as life hadn’t given them a break in a long time.”