- Thames Reach

SummerNRfinal20142:Noticeboard 1
4/6/14
16:32
Page 1
News Reach
Thames Reach’s newsletter for service users, staff and friends
Summer 2014
Getting personal
What the year ahead holds for Thames Reach
Thames Reach Chief Executive
Jeremy Swain is interviewed
by Communications Team
volunteer Amy Muu.
It’s an exciting time for
Thames Reach’s service users,
says Chief Executive Jeremy
Swain.
Across the voluntary, health
and social care sectors there
has been an important shift in
the way that services are
offered and delivered.
Slowly but surely we are
moving away from services
that are generic and constructed on the assumed
needs of the service user and
towards new ways of working
with people where they are
given greater choice and control and services become
more individualised and
responsive to changing need.
“Now we want to move
up a gear.”
Thames Reach has actively
sought to give more influence
and choice to service users.
Now we want to move up a
gear and place the personalisation of services at the forefront, building on the personcentred planning approach
that has been developed over
the last few years and pushing
the boundaries further, giving
people greater control on how
they receive support.
Already Thames Reach’s
personalised approach has
given people the opportunity
to influence the path they take
away from homelessness,
exemplified by the work of the
East London Housing
Partnership (see page 7) and
the Ace team (see page 4).
In their work helping longterm rough sleepers off the
streets, the Ace team navigators must find effective
solutions that will ensure
people settle in long-term
accommodation.
Frequently the challenge is to
help people develop new interests that keep them engaged.
Through focusing imaginatively on individual aspirations
and giving people the chance
to go beyond the normal limits
in terms of articulating their
ambitions, the team has pioneered new ways of helping
people make progress.
One service user chose to
use his budget to get a coaching badge and is now teaching
football to children and
teenagers. Another decided
that swimming lessons would
help him to gain confidence
and move forward in his life.
Continues overleaf
Thames Reach organised a successful ‘Evening with Joanna Lumley’ at the Magic Circle theatre in Euston earlier this year.
The event gave Thames Reach supporters a chance to find out more about the life of this greatly admired actress and campaigner
in a question and answer session. The evening featured moving accounts from people who have used the charity’s services and
turned their lives around. Joanna is pictured with Thames Reach’s Mark Smith who helped Tracy (left) escape homelessness.
Photo by Alex Christofides
SummerNRfinal20142:Noticeboard 1
4/6/14
16:32
Page 2
News
Getting personal
What the year ahead holds for Thames Reach
Continued from front page
Thames Reach is also committed to working in partnership with others to develop
new ways in which service
users can genuinely choose
and influence the services
they receive.
Working with Resolving
Chaos, and St Giles Trust we
have been helping develop the
E-Choice Channel.
This is an interactive website
which, when developed, will
allow service users with personal budgets to choose services, activities and products.
They will also be able to comment on the services they
receive in the way that you
can on, for example, Trip
Advisor.
The project is in its research
phase and benefiting greatly
from the involvement of
Thames Reach service users
who are helping with each
stage of its development.
Jeremy said: “Once service
users are given real authority
to select and comment on
services, organisations,
including Thames Reach, will
have to be more responsive to
their views and preferences
and change what we offer
accordingly. It will be exciting
and challenging.”
The Waterloo Project has
also found ways of giving people more choice and control
through the Psychologically
Informed Environment (PIE)
approach which is transforming
the way Thames Reach is deliv-
ering services in our hostels.
The project’s residents, all
with complex needs, are supported by the Thames Reach
hostel team which has developed skills and knowledge in
delivering support within a PIE
framework assisted greatly by
two full-time clinical psychologists working on-site.
Residents are helped to
access different therapeutic,
voluntary and education or
work-based services with the
focus on meeting individual
needs and interests.
Jeremy said: “We are moving beyond simply maintaining
people to transforming lives
and reversing negative ways
of behaving and already we
have a strong bank of
evidence that shows that real,
tangible change is being
achieved and maintained.”
Jeremy and area manager
Vicky Mansell are leading a
time-limited project running
from June to December which
will bring together examples of
personalised approaches from
different parts of the organisation. The objective is to spread
across the organisation examples of how personalisation is
making an impact, encourage
further use of personal budgets and ensure that what we
are doing is disseminated
more widely. A small group
will drive this work, meeting
monthly. If you are interested
in joining it, please contact
Vicky or Jeremy.
HRH Princess Anne visited the Thames Reach Graham House hostel in Vauxhall and met up with residents and staff this spring.
The hostel, which houses 69 former rough sleepers being given the support to move away from homelessness, was hosting a visit
by the HRH Duke of Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Study Conferences (CSC) Leaders. Delivered by international leadership development organisation Common Purpose, the aim of the visit was for senior individuals within businesses, governments and wider
society to understand homelessness and how hostels like Graham House meet the needs of long-term rough sleepers.
HRH Princess Anne is pictured with Graham House resident Joe Milligan.
2 Summer 2014 News Reach
Photo by Alex Christofides
SummerNRfinal20142:Noticeboard 1
4/6/14
16:32
Page 3
Feature
Healthy body healthy mind
New partnerships springing up at Thames Reach
Partnerships with health
services are becoming
increasingly important at
Thames Reach and new projects are springing up across
the capital.
In Croydon and Greenwich,
schemes funded by the
Department of Health are
being piloted to respond to
the needs of homeless people
in hospital.
These Hospital Discharge
Schemes ensure people do
not have extended stays in
hospital due to homelessness
and are not put at risk by
being discharged back onto
the streets.
In Lambeth, the
Psychologically Informed
Environment (PIE) approach at
Thames Reach’s Waterloo
Project is being extended to
Thames Reach hostels across
the borough.
Currently, two psychologists
from the South London and
Maudsley NHS Foundation
Trust provide professional psychological support to the hostel
residents, but thanks to funding
from the Guy’s and St Thomas’s
Charity, a three-year extension
to the scheme will involve a total
of six psychologists.
The Community Options
Team in Lambeth offers time
limited interventions to people
with mental health issues who
live in the borough.
It supports people in a
broad range of areas including
housing, benefits, education
and employment whilst also
addressing social isolation
and increasing independence.
This is done in collaboration
with the service user and
healthcare services, ensuring
appropriate links to secondary
or primary health services are
maintained.
Coordinated and hosted by
Thames Reach at its Elmfield
House offices in Stockwell, it
is made up of support staff
not only from Thames Reach
3 Summer 2014 News Reach
but also Mosaic Clubhouse,
Fanon Southside Partnership,
Penrose and Look Ahead
Care & Support.
“Partnerships with health
services are becoming
increasingly important
at Thames Reach.”
Now, the Community
Options Team, Primary Care
Support Services and clinical
teams all operate at the new
North Lambeth Hub at the
Stockwell offices, the first port
of call for people from North
Lambeth looking for mental
health support.
Mark Young, senior practitioner of the Community
Options Team, said: “The Hub
is the new front door for mental health support in north
Lambeth, providing a range of
health, practical and social
support.”
Meanwhile the 3 Dimensions
of Care for Diabetes (3DFD)
won one of the prestigious
2014 British Medical Journal
Awards for its innovative work.
The scheme was set up to
help people establish better
control of their diabetes within
a community setting, linking
people with a GP as well as
hospitals.
It’s a partnership between
Thames Reach and Kings
College Hospital bringing
together social care provided
by Thames Reach along with
medical and psychological
support from NHS staff.
Continued funding has just
been agreed by the Clinical
Commissioning Groups in
both Lambeth and Southwark.
Katy Porter, area director,
said: “This is a real step in the
right direction, that innovative
projects which integrate health
and social care are being
recognised for the positive
outcomes achieved both
through awards and most
importantly, future funding.”
In north-west London, the
Brent Winter Ward was set
up in early January and saw
Thames Reach staff providing
housing advice and advocacy
to people using the Willesden
Green Centre for Health and
Care up until the end of May.
Elsewhere in the same borough, the Brent Reach service
has a staff member working in
the HIV hub in Stonebridge,
providing support to clients
there.
Andy Langford, north
London area director, said:
“The aim of the HIV Floating
Support Service, which works
in partnership with Ealing
Hospital NHS Trust, is to
help people with HIV who
might be in housing crisis or
housing need.”
Mark Young, senior practitioner at the Community Options Team, with volunteer receptionist
Poppy Wick outside the Elmfield House offices where the North Lambeth hub is based.
Photo by Ben Hennessy
SummerNRfinal20142:Noticeboard 1
4/6/14
16:33
Page 4
Feature
Tackling rough sleeping
Services delivering results across the capital
If you find it difficult to
believe that anyone could live
on the streets of London for
years, imagine working with
hundreds of people who have
lived that life.
Thames Reach excels in
helping London’s most complex and excluded rough
sleepers find a home, and
leave behind the pavements
and parks for good.
The Thames Reach Ace
team is one of London’s
Social Impact Bond (SIB)
services funded to work with
415 named people who have
a long history of sleeping out.
The Ace team is funded under
an arrangement whereby all
income is received through a
Payment by Results (PbR)
mechanism based on five outcomes designed to help people
move off of the street permanently. These are the number of
people: helped off of the street;
reconnected to destinations outside the UK; supported in settled accommodation; assisted to
find work and volunteering
opportunities; given health-related support measured by
reduced hospital admissions.
The Ace team is funded
through social investment.
Thames Reach staff deliver
a service to rough sleepers
who have not been assisted
to move from the street in a
sustained way through traditional service delivery models.
“Thames Reach excels
in helping London’s
most complex and
excluded rough sleepers find a home.”
It is based on personalised
support planning and strong
messages that Thames Reach
staff will not give up until they
are off the street for good.
Staff are given the title navigators which reflects their brokerage and enabling roles,
assisting people to get the most
from services and putting in
place packages of support that
can help them maintain themselves away from the street.
Thames Reach director,
Audrey Mitchell, said: “It has
been striking how many of our
clients are cynical about hostels, or previous offers of support, and so the team have
had to be creative with new
offers which meet their needs
and deliver outcomes for us.
“This is a three-year project,
but in just 12 months, we have
achieved remarkable results as
320 of our 415 are in accommodation and no longer bedded down and over 70 have
their own tenancy in stable
accommodation – not hostels
or temporary placements.
“The service was designed to
be different, personalised and
effective, using new creative
approaches to how we offer
support but also in finding flats
in the private rented sector.”
Last year over 40 service
users, despite having lived on
the street until quite recently,
took part in a Work Ready
Programme arranged by consulting firm McKinsey with
workshops, confidence and
team-building exercises and
certificated training
Thames Reach’s Housing
First is funded by the GLA
and works with a smaller number of service users who have
been excluded from most
services, or who refuse to
accept any offers of support.
The concept is to remove
the usual processes and criteria for housing and support –
which many would fail – and
once the housing has been
found, wrap the support
A rough sleeper found in an east London stairwell earlier this year.
4 Summer 2014 News Reach
Photo by Alex Christofides
around them with minimal
conditions.
Housing First uses person
centred planning techniques
all the way from the first conversation to resettlement.
This approach makes a big
difference, as does the input
of former service users as
peer mentors.
Staff and peer mentors
advocate, support and
encourage with an absolute
focus on meeting the service
user's needs.
Housing First was funded
during the pilot to work with 14
people – they are all in tenancies getting individual support
– and the team are now working with another seven.
It’s an effective service for
those who had given up on
accepting offers from anyone.
Director Audrey Mitchell,
said: “The teams reflect our
ethos every day – not giving up,
but also having high aspirations
for service users. After sleeping
out for years, it is wonderful that
nearly 100 are now safe and
settled in their own flat.
“The peer mentors play a
huge part in keeping service
users from becoming restless
and encouraging them back
into the community, work and
hobbies.
“Without the Ace and
Housing First teams, I have no
doubt that 400 people who
are currently in accommodation and making progress with
their lives would still be sleeping in parks or bin sheds.
“Our person centred planning, delivered by creative,
skilled and committed teams, is
really changing how outreach is
planned and delivered.
“The results from the past
year are impressive, and going
forward, more excluded rough
sleepers will no longer be living on the street, thanks to
our unique blend of personalisation, tenacity, partnership
working and new resources.”
SummerNRfinal20142:Noticeboard 1
4/6/14
16:33
Page 5
Comment and news
Reaching out
Developments in outreach services
In her last contribution to
News Reach before moving
on to take up a senior position
within the Home Group,
Thames Reach director
Audrey Mitchell looks at
developments to outreach
services across the capital.
Thames Reach has helped
London’s rough sleepers for
30 years and staff and volunteers are out more often than
ever in our trusted vans.
Some things have changed
– for example London Street
Rescue are running four shifts
every night across the capital
responding to No Second
Night Out referrals, as well as
working with those more
resistant to coming in. Our volunteers are remarkable – out
on every shift till the early
hours of the morning – and we
really value their contribution.
Some things don’t change
though – it can be hard to persuade some rough sleepers to
leave their ‘bed’ on the pavement – but we keep going
back until they come with us to
a place where we offer help
with housing and support.
Thames Reach’s London
Street Rescue service worked
with over 2,000 people last
year.
We are the only agency with
the expertise and resources to
help the significant number of
EU rough sleepers across all
London boroughs. Our London
Reconnections team is made
up of people who speak
European languages and who
not only can assess needs
accurately but also explain that
our offer is a return to family or
support services – not just a
ticket home. Since 2009 the
team have helped more than
2,300 people to get their lives
back on track, through close
links with EU partner agencies
offering rehabilitation.
Many are looking for work
but when that dries up they
can spiral into destitution very
quickly as they often have no
recourse to benefits or services. Our team have seen EU
nationals living in squalor, even
eating rats, and so we don’t
hold back in giving very direct
and clear messages about how
we can help them – often
saving lives in the process.
We secured London
Councils funding in 2013 to
run a new Targeted Rapid
Intervention Outreach team
(TRIO) to complement other
pan-London services we run
by finding the hidden homeless, dealing with ‘hotspots’ –
problem areas where rough
sleepers gather – and helping
vulnerable women with housing, life skills and counselling. This service helps both
homeless people and local
communities. With input from
Eaves for Women and Maya
Counselling, we’re on track to
help 5,500 people this year.
We’re engaging with rough
sleepers, giving telephone
advice, offering workshops,
housing, reconnection and
counselling. In addition, we’ve
helped local communities by
closing nearly 30 hotspots as
well as helping with measures
to prevent them springing up.
We have now secured funding for year two of TRIO,
which has already brought
huge benefit to people across
all 33 London boroughs.
Digital breakthrough
A Digital Inclusion group,
consisting of both staff and
service users, is exploring how
digital technology can help
improve people’s lives and
Thames Reach’s services.
Digital and online technology, such as the internet, social
media and mobile and tablet
devices play a vital role in our
day-to-day lives.
Being online gives people
more opportunities to do
things such as shopping, paying bills, claiming benefits,
accessing learning and training resources and searching
and applying for jobs.
Thames Reach is committed
to making it easier for the
people who use the charity’s
services to get online and
make the most of emerging
technology.
One new scheme set up to
help people who may be new
5 Summer 2014 News Reach
to using the internet or who
have difficulty accessing
online tools is a new service
launched in partnership with
Lambeth Council called Digibuddies.
Digi-buddies recruits volunteers with strong IT skills to
support Lambeth residents
with online activities such as
applying for benefits, setting
up email accounts, applying
for jobs, and buying goods
and services. The scheme is
currently operating across
local venues in the borough
such as community centres
and libraries, with sessions
being run on a drop-in basis
that are freely available to all.
If you are interested in
Thames Reach’s Digital
Inclusion group or volunteering as a Digi-buddy contact:
ben.hennessy@thamesreach
.org.uk
Thames Reach’s Dorian Martinez who runs Digi-buddies.
Photo by Ben Hennessy
SummerNRfinal20142:Noticeboard 1
4/6/14
16:33
Page 6
Interview and news in brief
year on
In brief A
Employment Academy in focus
Best 100
Companies
Thames Reach has been
recognised as one of Britain’s
top not-for-profit employers
in the Sunday Times Best
100 Companies to Work For
list 2014, being placed at
94th.
The Sunday Times Best
Companies to Work For list is
an annual ranking of Britain's
employers and is acknowledged as the most searching
and extensive research into
employee engagement carried
out in this country. The scores
and ratings that are assessed
to compile the lists are based
on employee opinions.
Thames Reach has also
been accredited with a One
to Watch status in the Best
Companies Accreditation
Scheme, which recognises
organisational excellence.
Fulfilling Lives
People in south London
with the most complex needs
are set to be helped through
a £9.7 million grant from the
Big Lottery Fund.
Thames Reach is playing a
lead role alongside other
charities working closely with
the London boroughs of
Lambeth, Lewisham and
Southwark on the new
Fulfilling Lives project. People
with multiple needs are often
the least likely to access
services or, when they do,
there are a number of services providing support in an
un-coordinated way. Fulfilling
Lives seeks to offer personalised, focused long-term
support to individuals to help
them break away from the
cycles of behaviour that have
prevented them making
progress in their lives.
Funding for Fulfilling Lives
will last for eight years and is
set to help 270 people.
6 Summer 2014 News Reach
News Reach’s Amy Muu
interviews the Employment
Academy’s marketing and facilities manager Anneke Ziemen.
It’s been over a year
since the Employment
Academy was established.
What’s happened in that
time?
When the Academy opened
at the beginning of 2013, our
challenge was to get services in
and for people to use those
services. We now have 17 services in the building and have
helped almost 900 people.
Service users are always
at the heart of what
Thames Reach does.
How is the Academy
maintaining that focus?
We realise that service
users come with a wide range
of needs that we might not be
able to fulfil alone.
What sets the Academy
apart is that we are able to
invite other organisations to
join us so that we can provide
different services all under the
same roof.
There are many benefits to
this: through working closely
together, the services can
make referral processes
quicker and much easier.
Instead of travelling across the
borough to access a new
service, people can go across
the hall. And by collaborating
closely, we can provide a
much better experience for the
service user.
Inviting other organisations
to join also means we can
simply offer a broader range of
services to reflect the diverse
needs of people – one-to-one
support for unemployed
women or people with mental
health problems, for example.
The role of volunteers
within Thames Reach is
important. Would you say
that is the same for the
Employment Academy?
Absolutely. This place would
not function without volunteers: they make up a significant proportion of staff. They
contribute in all areas from
reception to health and safety
and in service delivery.
Many of our volunteers, such
as the peer mentors, are also
former or current service
users.
What new services have
moved in recently?
We’re very excited about our
latest additions.
Leonard Cheshire Disability
provide support around a
range of needs, including
employment, to people with
disabilities.
Rapid Improvement offer
vocational training to local job
seekers.
Gary and his team from
Southwark Works provide
employment support to people
recovering from alcohol and
substance misuse.
Any specific moment at
the Academy that you’re
particularly proud of?
I am incredibly pleased that I
was able to hire two former
volunteers. When they first
came to the Employment
Academy they had been out of
work for quite a while and
were able to build their confidence and prove what great
assets to any organisation
they can be.
They earned their posts
through a competitive interview
process and now work closely
with our new volunteers.
Any time a volunteer or service user takes a chance, goes
for a new opportunity and
succeeds is a happy occasion
at the Employment Academy.
Looking ahead, what
hopes do you have for the
Academy?
We envisage linking up with
training providers to offer
accredited courses for service
users to gain qualifications in
fields such as retail, administration and construction.
Also, the Sun Café will be
opening in the early summer
with an exciting menu offering
breakfast, lunch and dinner.
We’re all looking forward to
the sourdough pizzas.
We’ll also be opening up in
the evenings for art exhibitions
or at weekends for, say, a
bike-fixing workshop or
weddings.
Anneke Ziemen (left) with Employment Academy intern Jodene Adjei.
Photo by Ben Hennessy
SummerNRfinal20142:Noticeboard 1
4/6/14
16:33
Page 7
Feature and news in brief
East London partnership In brief
Personalisation in action
An Iraqi asylum seeker, a
bus driver and a man who just
wants a clean cooker. These
are just a few of the people
helped by the East London
Housing Partnership (ELHP),
an award-winning Thames
Reach initiative delivered in
conjunction with eight East
London boroughs to provide
accommodation for homeless
people.
Set up in 2012, it provides
private sector homes through
a rent deposit scheme whilst
offering support to help people maintain their tenancies
and become more independent by getting back into work.
In 2013, the project won an
Andy Ludlow Award recognising innovative work in tackling
homelessness in London.
Thames Reach is the principle service provider with
around a third of the 325
clients, each with their own
individual needs.
Senior practitioner, Beth
Winter, said: “Support
absolutely has to be personalised to clients’ needs.
Everything has to be adapted to
where they are at in their lives.”
Bob* is one of Beth’s service users. Suffering from longstanding mental health and
other issues, Bob found himself homeless after the breakdown of his marriage.
Despite securing stable
accommodation through
ELHP, he was unable to gain
work in his previous role as a
bus driver due to threatened
penalty points on his licence
and a fine of £750.
Beth supported Bob through
a difficult court case where she
offered testimony about his
engagement with services. The
result was positive. He did not
have points added to his
license and the fine was also
quashed. Bob is at present
applying for driving jobs.
Tariq* is another of Beth’s
service users. An asylumseeker from Iraq, he suffers
from post-traumatic stress
disorder and was on the verge
of abandoning his tenancy
because of problems with his
benefits.
Beth said: “I have so far
been able to urge him to stay
and see the bureaucratic
processes through.
“I have very frequent faceto-face and telephone contact
with him. He is very appreciative of my support but he
looks forward to a time when
he can be more independent.”
Will* was another client suffering despair. Feeling that he
had been cheated by the local
authority, he said at one point
that he wanted to throw himself under a train.
Beth said: “Myself and my
colleague took time to explain
how and why he had been
referred to ELHP and tried to
alleviate his feelings of persecution. It may seem like a
minor issue, but the cooker
had been left dirty by the previous tenant and this just
added to his negative feelings.
I offered to get cleaning materials and clean it with him. We
had regular contact after that.”
By working closely with
service users, ELHP is able to
assess clients’ needs and
work with them to provide
support for those needs.
Andy Langford is Thames
Reach’s north London area
director. He said the project is
essentially an investment in
people: “This scheme is about
giving someone an opportunity. Resources are provided but
our support always has to be
twinned with someone’s motivation to move forward with
their lives.”
Beth agrees: “We need the
service user to want to do
what we suggest. It has to
start from them.”
After rocky starts, Bob and
Tariq are both now managing
their accommodation. Will
continues to work towards
independence. He has
enrolled on a college course,
enjoys improving his skills and
feels more motivated: now he
cleans his cooker by himself.
*All names have been changed
Over 300 staff and volunteers attended the ‘Working Together for Thames Reach’ conference.
7 Summer 2014 News Reach
Photo by Mike Nicholas
Peer mentor
expertise
A new Thames Reach service in Hammersmith & Fulham
is helping formerly homeless,
vulnerable and socially
excluded people find work.
The Hammersmith & Fulham
Progressions service provides
one-to-one advice offered by
trained volunteer peer mentors on getting into education,
finding training courses and
taking advantage of employment opportunities.
The peer mentors can also
share their own experiences
of homelessness and social
exclusion, providing insights
into how best to overcome
these and other challenges
when looking to get back into
work.
For more details email :
[email protected]
Get kitted out
Thames Reach has developed a variety of useful toolkits. Two of the most important
relate to money and literacy,
which have a huge impact on
our quality of life.
The Meaning of Money,
published with
Lemos&Crane, explores the
attitudes towards money of
homeless and vulnerable
people and their behaviour in
handling money.
Turning the Key was written
for key workers in the homelessness sector and highlights some of the practical
and emotional barriers faced
by people who have low literacy levels.
Staff are encouraged to
use the toolkits as part of
their personalised support
planning.
These toolkits can be found
on the Thames Reach website
and intranet, and are an
important part of the organisation’s person centred support.
SummerNRfinal20142:Noticeboard 1
4/6/14
16:33
Page 8
News
Challenge yourself
Running and cycling events to support the homeless
Thames Reach is offering a
series of sporting opportunities and challenges this year
for cyclists and runners to do
the thing they love or for people looking to try something
new, whilst raising money for
the homeless.
Brit 10k – July 13.
Join over 20,000 runners
on a closed route past some
of the capital’s most iconic
landmarks including Trafalgar
Square, St Paul’s Cathedral,
The London Eye, Big Ben
and the Houses of
Parliament before finishing on
Whitehall.
London to Brighton Cycle
Ride – September 7.
Starting in south London,
this is a 54 mile bike ride
through the English countryside before finishing on
Brighton sea front.
Challenging but easily done
with a bit of preparation.
The London Duathlon –
September 14
This is a run-bike-run event
on closed roads through
beautiful Richmond Park. You
can enter as an individual or a
team of two or three.
Distances aren’t too long and
you don’t need to be a
tri-athlete to take part.
Individual event – 5k run, 11k
bike, 5k run
Team event – 10k run, 44k
bike, 5k run
Royal Parks Half-Marathon
and the Royal Parks Ultra
50k – October 12
The Royal Parks Half and
Ultra marathons give people
an opportunity to move on to
the next level. Perhaps you
have run a 10k and want to
test yourself further, or maybe
you’re a marathon runner
wanting to venture into the
‘extreme’.
Both are popular runs pass-
ing through some of London’s
most picturesque royal parks.
People who sign up to run
or cycle in support of Thames
Reach are given a fundraising
and training pack which
includes:
• A Thames Reach technical
t-shirt or running vest
• Fundraising materials
• Race numbers and chip
timing
• Sponsorship forms
• Training tips
Martyn Robson, who manages Thames Reach’s
fundraising team, said: “We
have picked events that are
challenging but great fun at
the same time. There is definitely something here for
everyone from the first time
fun-runner to the seasoned
athlete. Sign up today and
help us change lives.”
For more information or to
register an interest in any of
the above places, please contact our fundraising team on
fundraising@thamesreach
.org.uk or call:
020 3664 9551.
If you have ideas for a different challenge event and would
like help setting it up, please
contact our fundraising team.
Prime Development employee
Giulia Farolfi ran a halfmarathon for Thames Reach.
News Reach is printed on
100% recycled paper.
Available online at:
www.thamesreach.org.uk
Editor: Audrey Mitchell
News editor: Mike Nicholas
Reporter and photographer:
Ben Hennessy
Reporter: Amy Muu
Photographer: Alex
Christofides
Please send story ideas to:
mike.nicholas@thames
reach.org.uk
Make a donation
Long-time Thames Reach supporter Nick Bolton pictured at Everest Base Camp last year. Nick
raised over £1,200 for the charity by taking part in this Himalayan trek. This year, he is planning
another fundraising adventure cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
Martyn Robson, Thames Reach’s Business Development Manager, said: “Nick will be riding a
staggering distance of over 1,000 miles to raise money for Thames Reach’s valuable services
working with London’s homeless.” Nick, the founder of the coaching centre Animas, said: “I love
what Thames Reach does and the vital support it provides.” To support Nick, please visit his Just
Giving page at www.justgiving.com/NickswildLEJOG
8 Summer 2014 News Reach
Thames Reach’s work
benefits from the generosity
and support of businesses,
community groups and
individuals. This vital support
helps us make a real difference to the lives of vulnerable
and homeless people.
You can donate quickly and
easily at:
www.thamesreach.org.uk