SanKTus Welfare Project
Formerly Our Lady Help Of Christians Welfare Project
4 Lady Margaret Road,
London NW5 2XT
tel: 020 7485 9160
mobile: 07951 600451
email: pwcoordinator@yahoo.co.uk
Charity No. 1136596

A profile of our guests
The vast majority of people who access our services are vulnerable and isolated; some are street homeless but others are housed but have difficulties sustaining their accommodation or making connections in the community. Physical and mental health problems are common and several have a history of, or are prone to heavy drinking or substance abuse.

They visit the project regularly for company, a meal, a shower and change of clothes; many of our guests lack the life skills to undertake household tasks or manage their own finances or welfare benefits, but their avoidance of official services means that their problems escalate and any opportunities for resettlement or retraining are often ignored.

Their daily visit is often the only constant in their lives and other agencies increasingly see the project as an access point to re-establish contact and pass on vital information. Sometimes our guests need re-assurance that all possible avenues have been pursued in dealing with their particular concerns, whether it is an eviction order from the council, or an offer of a hostel place from the Street Safe Team. It can just be a matter of confirming the same information but giving them more time and space to talk through their options.

Our staff and volunteers can offer more long-term support to those who struggle with matters that unsettle them. We have found that our care and encouragement has make a difference in how people adapt to changes in their lives and circumstances, whether this is helping someone to settle into sheltered housing for the first time, bringing some furniture around and staying for tea, or taking the time to listen to someone who is dealing with the loneliness which often accompanies older age.

*Represents a single, daily visit, which can include take up of food, refreshments, washing, or support services. In addition we have 25 regular members who attend our Tuesday pensioners group and lunch club.

How you can help us
If you want to support SanKTus to continue its much-needed work, a financial donation is much needed and will be put towards the project’s food and equipment costs. There are two ways to make a donation.

By Credit/Debit card
Go to CAF Online search for Sanktus and follow the instructions.

By Cheque
Please print off the donation form and return to SanKTus, 4 Lady Margaret Road, London NW5 2XT for the attention of Mona Carr.

Coming Soon
Gift Aid: make your donation go further.
We are in the process of registering with HM Inland Revenue so that we can recover the tax paid by you on the donations you give, without any additional cost to you.

Download our
ANNUAL REPORT 2011

From small beginnings...
SanKTus began life as Our Lady Help of Christians Welfare Project in February 1992 when parishioners of the local Catholic Church came together to provide tea, sandwiches and companionship each Sunday to the growing number of homeless and vulnerable people in the Kentish Town area. 14 ‘guests’ attended on the first Sunday.

The 32 original volunteers formed five 'Sunday Clubs’ led by team leaders; this laid the foundations for how we work today. Since 2006 we have received core funding from the Irish Government to run the project and employ a Welfare Coordinator; this has enabled us to respond more effectively to the complex needs of our service users many of whom have an Irish background.

Our Current Activities

• Daily preparation of a meal and refreshments for homeless and socially excluded people, 365 days a year.
• Facilities for guests to shower and a change of clothes.
• Befriending of guests and referrals to mainstream housing, health and social care services.
• We provide support to the running of a night shelter in the church halls for up to 14 rough sleepers once a week over the winter months, networked to other shelters in Camden.
• We run the 'Tuesday Morning Club', a lunch club for local people aged 50+ providing a range of cultural and recreational activities which has recently branched out to provide weekly keep fits sessions.
• We provide support and guidance to 50 volunteers who deliver our services to homeless and vulnerable people.

Current funding
SanKTus is currently funded by the Irish Government’s Emigrant Support Programme and from public donations. From this we meet the running costs of the homeless project including all food costs, the salaries of two part time staff, our administration, and the pensioners' lunch club and activities. Currently our premises costs are subsumed in to the parish costs of Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church where we are based and without which we would be unable to offer such extensive services. We are immensely grateful to all those individuals who donate much needed clothes and toiletries for us to distribute to our guests and to all those who make sandwiches at home to help ease our food preparations and costs.

Current and future plans
As an organisation with limited resources yet a growing demand for our services, we anticipate a future of challenge and change. We recently constituted the project as an independent charity in order to generate funding from other sources to sustain and in the long term develop our services to meet the needs of our guests, whose living standards are so obviously below the poverty line.

The Irish Government will have a continued role in supporting the project. There are a significant number of volunteers from the local Irish community and they represent the link between the older and younger Irish emigrants and this relationship is invaluable in continuing the Irish dimension to our services. The scale of problems in the current Irish economy may again necessitate young people coming over from Ireland with no visible means of support.

Up until now all our work with guests have been unconditional with few demands made of them when accessing our services. This has positioned us in their lives as an organisation whose support provides them with immediate relief of poverty through food, shelter, company and support.

In line with our responsibility as an employer and in order to safeguard vulnerable guests, we have now implemented policies and procedures to achieve a non-threatening environment in our day centre.

The likelihood is that new funders will expect more comprehensive profiles of our service users and for us to evidence the value of our interventions; this may necessitate us proactively collecting data about our guests and their circumstances; we will use this information to plan and deliver services that address their needs in an uncertain climate of changes to welfare benefits.

We will encourage guests who are ready and capable of greater independence from the project to take advantage of resettlement, leisure and employment opportunities in the local community.

SanKTus will remain at the heart of Our Lady Help of Christian's parish who provide the majority of the volunteering workforce for the project.

Volunteer opportunities at SanKTus Welfare Project
Please download the explanation notes of the services we provide at SanKTus and how you might be able to help us. It is very much about building relationships with our guests so they feel comfortable enough to ask for our support to help them move forward with their lives.

The project is very volunteer dependant and we would be pleased to hear from you if you think you have some time to support our guests. At the moment we very much need volunteers to sign up for our weekend services.

We advise you to visit the project to see us in operation and to get a better idea of how best your skills and talents could assist us.

Please call Mona Carr, the Welfare Coordinator on the numbers above to arrange an informal visit to the project. After this meeting and if you feel you can afford some time to help us, you will need to complete the application form, which is attached for your information at this stage.

We will store your details in confidence.

We will be rolling out the introduction of volunteer contracts from March 2011 which will make clear to you the expectations of your post and what you are signing up to.

SanKTus is a very welcoming place to work and you will meet a great number of like-minded people all working towards the same goal.

If you are looking for work experience it offers pathways to support and community work also hospitality and catering jobs. We also welcome people who have worked in similar settings or have been involved in caring or bringing up a family.

We have procedures in place to ensure you feel safe while you are with us and we are currently rolling out CRB checks for our volunteers.