A Bournemouth charity has been awarded £225K from the National Lottery Reaching Communities Funding to help employ three further support workers.
Hope Housing Training & Support (HTS) was founded 15 years ago by Julie Berti and father David Botterill; in that time, they have supported 2700 homeless people to access accommodation and get their lives “back on track”.
They hope to use this funding to employ three further support workers for its ‘Opening Doors’ programme.
Julie said: “Our successful Lottery bid couldn’t come at a more important time for Hope.”
“Echoing national trends, there has been a rapid increase in the number of rough sleepers in Bournemouth and across Dorset.” She addd
She further stated that Bournemouth alone has seen an increase of 168% in applicants requesting for help with homelessness the past two years.
This rapid increase in demand has led to the decision of employing further team members to help as many people as possible.
Glynn Hannam is a former client of Hope with lived experience of homelessness, who has gone on to become a Support Worker for the charity.
He said: “I lived in Hope accommodation after personal struggles in my life. The charity helped me get my life back on track. Eventually I applied to be a volunteer with its maintenance team and from there, as my confidence grew, I moved into training as a support worker, something I am incredibly proud of.”
The skills taught can enable individuals to live a healthier way of living and alongside the fully-trained support workers and counsellors offering guidance, encouragement and liaising with external agencies if necessary.
To support Hope HTS please visit: hopehts.com