Home From Home

We are looking for new volunteer hosts to join the programme who have a spare room. If you are interested in finding out more about hosting, please contact our Community Engagement Coordinator Sian at sian@c4wshomelessproject.org

In 2017 C4WS developed and launched a new project called Home From Home to extend the support we provide to people experiencing homelessness. 

Home From Home is a hosting project whereby volunteers with spare bedrooms provide these to guests from our night shelter for a short term period whilst they are waiting to move into accommodation. Hosting is a warm, inclusive and supported means of helping people in need in a tangible and affirmative way that makes a real and lasting difference. It can be fun getting to know someone new, experiencing different cultures and playing an important role in enabling someone to get back on their feet.

Volunteer hosts of Home From Home are supported throughout the process by the C4WS Welfare Team. Similarly, guests will receive support from the C4WS Welfare Team to progress to their desired next steps.

Impact

We launched Home From Home as a pilot project in our 2017/2018 winter night shelter which resulted in 221 nights of accommodation provided by our hosts, equating to an extra 10% of nights of emergency respite accommodation. Since its conception in 2017, Home From Home has provided over 450 nights of accommodation, and facilitated 13 placements, which has seen 100% of guests engaging with Home From Home successfully obtaining and maintaining their new homes.

Testimonies

Our hosts and guests report that this is a rewarding and fulfilling experience:

"We found Gavin to be a very pleasant guest. He was ready to help in any way he could and was sensitive to our way of life. We were glad for him that with C4WS’s help he found accommodation of his own, but we missed him when he left!"

Thomas, Host

"To Anne, my wonderful host as part of Home from Home..., in Spanish we say 'arropar', which loosely translated means bringing people together, or to embrace, and that's what I felt from your kindness and warmth. I was glad to be there for you, as much as you were there for me, as we came through our own challenges thanks to eachother's support."

Sara, Guest

"Lily moved out today, having been able to sort out a lot in her new accommodation over the weekend. She seemed positive and I hope that she is now firmly on an upward trajectory and gaining in confidence."

Rehana, Host

"We’ve now hosted a couple times and found it to be a fantastic scheme. Well organised, managed efficiently and incredibly enriching for our household."

Denzel, Host

"It was my best day ever in London. Thank you and thank you for presenting me to my hosts. They are awesome. What we did made me completely happy. Thanks a lot."

Mohammed, Guest