Community event reaches out to support people sleeping rough | News and events

People sleeping rough in the Great Yarmouth area have been accessing more help after a collaborative event held on World Homeless Day.

The information day at The Drill House was jointly organised by Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust’s People Sleeping Rough Team and East Norfolk Medical Practice, with support from Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

And team manager Leah Spry says she plans more partnership work after the success of the event.

“The team has received an increase in self-referrals since the event, and other services have been in touch for advice and support,” she said, adding that it would not have happened without the support of Katrina Kelly, Patient Welfare Manager with East Norfolk Medical Practice. “I have found an amazing support and professional connection in Katrina. We were both so pleased with how the day went and will continue this collaboration.”

The event on 10 October, which was also World Mental Health Day, brought together organisations under one roof to offer help, advice and support to people sleeping rough, including a hot meal, flu jab, haircuts and mental health support.

“Our work relies on developing good relationships within our teams and our external partners and the event helped increase our own knowledge and learn new skills to create some lasting positive changes for ourselves, our teams and the people we serve,” she said.

“It was nice to see how many professionals want to work in an integrated way to support service users. This is a really great learning culture. We all need one another to make a difference and feel good about what we do.”

The event included around a dozen stands offering support and advice and a local supermarket donated enough food for 200 people.

People Participation Lead Margaret Tanner, who attended the event, said: “What really struck me was how much community organisations came together to support each other and the people who use the services.

“The feedback from the people I talked to was how much they appreciated the event. They said the atmosphere was good, and they loved the fact they could get a haircut and shave. There was also donated clothing and toys which people could take away.”

And Leah added: “The event was really informal, yet interactive. Service users were able to sit and have food and drink. They collected clothing and spoke to freely to professionals. I could see them taking away leaflets and discussing services amongst themselves. The venue was amazing with a roaming circus performer on roller skates and the chance to join in with some juggling.”

NSFT chief nurse Anthony Deery welcomed the chance to work with other organisations for the benefit of service users in the community.

“Sharing knowledge and resources is a vital way to make sure all our communities get safer, kinder and better care and I am delighted this event was a great success.”

Katrina said: “ East Norfolk Medical Practice has always had a passion for supporting our homeless patients. We are always looking for ways to develop and improve, and World Homeless Day is a way of bringing all the services who offer support together and building new connections.

“A special thanks to Maddison Crowe, a GP assistant at East Norfolk Medical Practice, who came along on the day to offer haircuts to service users. 

“This day was a great success and we registered two patients who didn’t have a GP. It was a pleasure to work with Leah and we hope to continue this collaboration.”