New opportunities for all at Routes to Roots

I was nervous entering the Genesis Centre in Poole to visit Routes to Roots, the 20 year-old Queen’s Award-winning, homeless charity that has been based there since March. I wanted to find out more about the work the charity does and about volunteering opportunities but was anxious about what I might find.

The building is tucked away discreetly behind Poole High St in an adapted, recently-bought Baptist Church. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it isn’t what I saw. Manager Ben Sargent (one of only two paid staff members at the charity) welcomed me into a warm, inviting, spacious venue, complete with sofas, table-tennis, table football, discreet spaces and an ‘office’ corner with computers. There is a large reception/office and a purpose-built, spacious kitchen. Volunteers were beavering away in the kitchen, the smell of delicious home-made soup wafting about. The atmosphere was, surprisingly, happy. 

I admitted to my ignorance as Ben, who has managed the centre since January (having previously worked in housing and the addictions service), talked about people who are homeless and rough-sleeping – what’s the difference I asked? Homeless people are not necessarily rough-sleeping, they may be sofa-surfing but have no fixed address, he explained. Rough sleepers are the people you see living in doorways.

There were a few people coming and going, drinking tea, chatting and making use of the facilities but not as many as usual, explained Ben. He said that because of the freezing temperatures, ‘SWEP’ had been implemented – the government’s Severe Weather Emergency Protocol. By law, this must be activated when the night-time temperature is set to be freezing or below for three consecutive nights, causing a real risk to life. 

So, this begs the question: if the council are able to house all these people when SWEP is initiated, (and during Covid), why can’t they do it the rest of the time?

“Good question,” said Ben. “But it’s easy to criticise the council when, in reality, they’re doing their best. The relevant agencies are all involved here, along with other charities. To be honest, there is great wrap-around care and coordination.

“The housing team come in regularly to help with form-filling and ensure people are ‘in the system’. And the drugs and alcohol service and the mental health team are among other services working closely with us. Many, though not all, of our users need their support.

“The reasons for homelessness or rough-sleeping can be extremely complex, so it’s not always easy to get people housed, although this is what the majority of them ultimately want.”

There are a few however, for whom living outside feels safer because they’ve experienced an unsafe home.

The centre provides lunch for 30-40 people each weekday and breakfast on Mondays and Fridays, so that they can check in with people in the lead up to and after the weekend. Demand for the charity’s services has doubled since the beginning of the year as more people become vulnerably housed or homeless – in November they served 600 hot lunches.

Other support is available too. Given that around 80% of users are male, Ben has set up a drop-in women’s group on Thursday mornings, recognising that it can be intimidating for a female to walk into a space full of men. The women can be directed to various female-specific services and access sanitary products.

Though children don’t visit the centre, many of the women are mothers. Some may not be officially homeless but are struggling to feed the family, so they visit the centre for lunch so that any food at home can be given to the children when they return from school.

“People come here because they are in need,” says Ben. “Sadly, there will always be people in need but we are a safe place where they can come and eat or chat; no-one is turned away, they don’t have to justify it.”

Continuing our tour, Ben showed me the pristine bathroom facilities, where people can have a hot shower, and the laundry, where they can wash and dry clothes. The medical room is a huge plus; a chiropodist comes in voluntarily each month to assess users and treat foot issues, a particular problem for rough sleepers.

“Being homeless means people walk a lot and often have wet shoes that don’t dry out, so infections and ‘trench foot’-type conditions are rife,” says Ben.

There is a discreet needle exchange service too and Ben is hoping to set up other medical amenities soon; for instance, getting blood born virus nurses to come in and do liver scans to check for enlarged livers (Hepatitis C is seen commonly here).

Let’s be honest, Routes to Roots users are highly vulnerable and anxious, especially when they’re sleeping in car parks and doorways. But as a result of this, a strong bond has developed within the group and they all look out for each other. There is a true feeling of camaraderie, between those visiting the centre and the volunteers and Ben, who knows them all by name and greets them as friends.

Ben told me about one, recently retired man, who had been hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis and financial effects of Covid and was no longer able to pay his rent, so was living in his car. He was humble and thoughtful and didn’t want to eat at the centre if it meant someone else couldn’t. 

Donations of clothes, sleeping bags, blankets and toiletries are always welcome, as are financial donations (these can be made through the website or through the charity’s social media channels – Twitter, Instagram or Facebook). Other than the odd grant, the charity receives no government funding. 

In some ways, being independent and not having to be answerable to anyone is a positive, says Ben. The charity doesn’t need to jump through hoops or tick any boxes. It means that they can just ‘be there’ and users can relax and make as much use of the support as they want with no pressure.

What has opened his eyes most over the last year, he says, is the enormous generosity of people in the community, not just with money but also with their time - from the architect who gave his time free, not only to redesign the building but then to be there hands-on during the conversion, to the chiropodist, to the volunteers who rock up week after week.

Though the charity originated from Christian values and continues to uphold these, it is not actively ‘religious’, nor does it encourage its users to be. There are currently 42 regular volunteers working at the charity, fulfilling different roles, but Ben always needs more, so there are opportunities for all.

I bumped into Revd. Pat Southgate, one of the original founders of Routes to Roots; still very much involved and there to accept a large cheque from representatives of Rick Stein in Sandbanks, who have been huge supporters of the charity, most recently raising money through charity lunches.

She told me that in August the charity was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – the highest award a UK charity can receive, equivalent to an MBE. Pat said: “I am immensely proud of all the dedicated volunteers who make Routes to Roots and I hope they are proud of themselves for all they have achieved over those last 20 years. I hope we never forget that this much-deserved award is not just for today but will be ours forever.”

There’s more work to be done at the centre; phase two involves a cavernous room to the back, currently used as storage but with potential for more facilities, including, potentially beds.

As I was leaving, I overheard a conversation between Pat and a young girl, who happily reported that she hadn’t had a drink for six weeks. “Amazing!” says Pat. She’s done better than me, I thought. And that’s how I’d sum up Routes to Roots – positive, warm, uplifting, amazing. The fact that they are open for lunch on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the Bank Holiday says it all.

So why not start the new year with a positive? Volunteering has been proven to make people happier and to have significant health benefits, both physical and mental. It increases confidence, teaches new skills and provides opportunities to make new friends. Find out more about how you could help at routestoroots.org

By Emily McGregor, Local News and Lifestyle Reporter