Before lock down began, Hels had been working at The Wolseley as part of its front of house team – a role that had been advertised by Only A Pavement Away UK. Following a successful trial shift, Hels secured the job. She became the first female door person on Piccadilly (a title she is, rightly, very proud of!) and a highly valued and respected member of the team.

When lock down started Hels was placed on furlough. Her pay was topped up to 100% via a grant from Only A Pavement Away but losing the structure and purpose of working life was really tough. During lock down, the Employment Academy team set up weekly calls, and kept in regular touch to offer emotional support and practical guidance around coronavirus. With lock down starting to ease, Hels was invited back to work. She had her first shift back on the door at The Wolseley on Saturday night, and couldn’t be happier about it. So happy, in fact, that her smile caught the eye of this Times food critic!

Without the support of our members, we wouldn’t be able to run our Employment Academy or provide the support that many of graduates have relied during the coronavirus crisis. Thank you. We are working on plans to run our next Employment Preparation Programme in a way that is both safe and effective later this year, we’ll share more about this over the coming weeks. We continue to support graduates in getting back to work as lock down eases.  We know this is a challenging time for us all, but if you can make a donation to help our work continue, you can here.

But we aren’t in a hurry. We want to be certain that when we do open, we can provide complete confidence to members and guests that we are a safe place to be. We are taking our time to get this right – we are learning from best practice on how the hospitality sector is evolving, and factoring in the feedback we’ve been getting from you. As soon as we have a firm date, you will be the first to know.

Whilst times have changed, we have too. We’ve used the past months to properly look at what makes the House of St Barnabas special, what our members want from us and how we can best put our mission at the centre of all we do. Here’s a little bit about the changes we’re making:

A community-focused membership:

The first half of 2020 has shown us just how important community is – we want to make sure that ours is one that knows us, and each other, better

We’re making plans to better connect all the parts of our community. That’s you, us and our Employment Academy participants and graduates

Getting here:

We know that lots of you are nervous about using public transport and travelling to central London. We’ll be installing bike racks to give members the option to cycle and store their bikes safely, if they want to

The club:

We’re redesigning our spaces to respect social distancing rules and will ask that all members pre-book their visit using a booking system

You will be allocated a table for the duration of your visit, we’ll ask that members do not move to new tables so that we can minimise contact

We will maximise the use of technology to ensure minimal physical contact between our team members and guests

We’ll be moving away from sharing style food and drinks, and will have a new, refined menu

The Employment Academy:

We’re preparing to run our next Employment Preparation Programme later this year – in a way that’s both safe and effective for participants

We are redesigning our programmes for a post-covid world. We know that the way people are working is changing, we’ll be making sure our graduates are ready for this

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The Team is going all-out to get the House ready to welcome you back. We can’t say exactly when yet. But we can’t wait.

When we do reopen our doors, we know that the House we all return to won’t be quite the same as the House we left. There will be change. We are working hard to make sure that the House is covid-secure and we can reopen a club that members feel excited and safe to return to. If the timetable for the easing of government restrictions doesn’t allow us enough lead-in time to put processes and measures in place so that we can all feel safe to return, we’ll delay re-opening until we are confident that we have done all we can.

Our priority continues to be breaking the cycle of homelessness and we are working to strengthen and adapt the impact of our Employment Academy in the context of the significant changes for the hospitality sector caused by COVID-19. We are hoping to run our next Employment Preparation Programme before the year is out. We know the need for our work has never been greater. Since lock down began, we’ve worked with more than 100 graduates from all of our programmes, now our focus is helping more people navigate the easing of lock down restrictions and what this means for them and their employment.

We’ll be sharing more about our reopening plans in our member newsletters over the coming weeks. We’ll share what this means for our members our impact. Please get in touch if there is anything that you’re unsure about.

Thank you so much for continuing to support House of St Barnabas through this.

We can’t wait to welcome you back.

Like lots of us, Corey had been nervous to start using public transport. He didn’t feel sure that he’d be able to socially distance but without using public transport, he wouldn’t be able to get to work. Cycling seemed like the most practical answer, but bikes are expensive, and Corey didn’t have one.  We appealed to mentors for a secondhand bike and one mentor donated a new bike and lock. The bike has now arrived and Corey will be able to get back to work, safely. He’s loving life on two-wheels and has sent a very big thank you to the person who donated the bike.

We wouldn’t be able to provide this support without the help of our members and supporters. We know that this is a challenging time for us all, but if you are able to make a donation to help our charitable work continue, you can here.

A few weeks ago, one of our graduates was furloughed from his job. But what furlough means and the rules around what was allowed weren’t properly explained to him, and he started picking up work from another part of the large organisation that employs him whilst being on furlough from his regular role. This resulted in confusion over his furlough status and impacted on what and how he was being paid.

Our Employment Academy team are working through this situation with him; to help unravel his furlough situation with his employer and to speak his benefits advisor to understand the impact that the initial confusion has had.

Because his regular role doesn’t involve the use of IT or the internet, this graduate finds managing communication and completing paperwork online really difficult. He didn’t have his own laptop or access to the internet. To help support him during this time, and so that he can start to manage more independently, we have supplied him with his own laptop and arranged internet access. Now, he is able to complete IT and digital training, via Learn My Way delivered by the Good Things Foundation.

At the beginning of Coronavirus crisis, this graduate was receiving daily crisis support from our Employment Academy team. As we have managed to understand his furlough and benefits status, provide more stability around his income and give him tools so that he can manage some things more independently we have resumed weekly support Zoom calls with this graduate, focused less on the immediate crisis and more on the bigger picture.

We wouldn’t be able to do any of this work without the help of our members and supporters. We know that this is a challenging time for us all, but if you are able to make a donation to help this work continue, you can here.

We offer all graduates one year of post-graduation support. This means they work with a member of our Employment Academy team who provide practical support and guidance with things like job applications, interview prep, housing support, and benefit claims or changes. During this time, each graduate is also paired with a volunteer mentor who helps with regular check-ins and is an important listening ear. We operate an open-door policy for all graduates, which means we’re always available for additional support, even after the first year of more formal post-graduation support has come to an end.

This graduate’s volunteer mentor had checked-in when the lock down started and found her worried and anxious about how she was going to feed her three teenage children. Before the lock down, she was working in social care but because she was on a 0 hours contract, many of her shifts were cancelled and her income had dropped significantly. Working together, the volunteer mentor and our Employment Academy team managed to apply to Westminster Food Bank, who are now providing regular food boxes. We are also helping this graduate with a Universal Credit application, but because of the huge surge in new applications, this is proving a trial. We’ll be on hand to make sure that the application gets through the system and approved and will be providing care packages alongside the food bank packages until this is completed.

We would not be able to do any of this work without the help of our members and supporters. We know that this is a challenging time for us all, but if you are able to make a donation to help this work continue, you can here.

Whilst at the House, this graduate completed his work experience in the club working as a barista and started to foster some big plans to have his own coffee shop one day. He was taking positive steps towards his dream, having secured a job as a barista which he was due to start last month. Sadly, because of Coronavirus, that job is now on hold.

With the help of the Employment Academy team, he was offered a one bedroom flat just before the Coronavirus crisis, and had managed to move in before the lock down began. This has offered him some focus and motivation during this testing time. But, he continues to face challenges around his mental health and alcohol. The EA Team, and his mentor, have been offering support and guidance on these challenges and are helping him to build structure and maintain resilience.

Since graduation, he had also been studying to gain his English and Maths qualifications, but now, all courses have been placed on hold. We have been working to source this graduate a laptop and to provide internet access so he can continue to study online, complete his qualifications and remain focused on the future.

The Employment Academy team is in regular contact and are conducting remote support sessions to keep him focused whilst lock down continues and until we hope he can begin his job.

We wouldn’t be able to do any of this work without the help of our members and supporters. We know that this is a challenging time for us all, but if you are able to make a donation to help this work continue, you can here.

Closing the House means the loss of key income streams overnight; private hire, new members and funds we receive from our catering partner Baxterstorey. Alongside prioritising supporting the vulnerable people that have experienced homelessness and need us now more than ever, we are also cost-saving wherever we can. This means furloughing some staff and senior members of staff volunteering to take a pay cut. We face a funding deficit this year and are doing all we can to make sure we’re still here on the other side of this virus. We’ve been really touched to hear from many of you who, despite facing uncertainty and worry yourselves, have asked us how you can help. Below are a whole heap of things you can do, but it’s not exhaustive. Get in touch if there’s something you want to do not mentioned here; we’re all ears!

Making a donation online
Donate to change the lives of people affected by homelessness and social exclusion. If you are a UK tax payer please email us your Gift Aid declaration which will allow us to recover an additional 25% from the Government at no extra cost to you.

‘Donate the difference’
If you are currently working from home, how much are you saving on your commute, coffees and lunches? Can you save it up and donate it at the end of the month? Some members of the Club have got in touch to donate what they might normally spend on lunch and drinks in the House!

Employee Payroll Giving
Payroll Giving is a way for employees to donate to any UK-registered charity directly from their gross pay (i.e. before tax is taken). In order to operate the scheme your employer needs to contract with a recognised Payroll Giving Agency such as the Payroll Giving Team. Set up your regular donation, pre-tax here.

Matched Giving
Many companies are offering to match donations made to charities; Barclays have just announced a special fund to do so. Can your company help in this way by matching any donations you make?

Give while you shop
Lots of us are still shopping from home, whether that’s an office chair or handwash! Join Give as You Live and we’ll receive donations every time you shop at over 4,000 places including John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Waterstone’s, Boden, Boots, Trainline, Just Eat, Curry’s and many more. If you shop on Amazon, please always start at https://smile.amazon.co.uk and make sure you’ve chosen to give to the House of St Barnabas. We receive 0.5% of the net purchase price.

Making a Will
When you are making a will, your first concern will naturally be for your own family and friends. We are also really grateful when people remember the House of St Barnabas. This Saga guidance outlines the different ways you can leave a legacy to a charity. Help us keep breaking the cycle of homelessness for years to come. If you make a pledge in this way, please let us know.

The outbreak of Coronavirus has meant she has not been able to start this job and her contract is paused. At the time of the outbreak, our graduates’ mother was visiting from her home country, but because of the travel ban, she has not been able to return. This means that two adults and one child are isolating in a one bedroom flat: the elderly mother sleeps in the bed, her son on the sofa, and our graduate on the floor. In the early stages of lockdown, this graduate was targeted by fraudsters, which added to her ever-growing anxiety.

Our graduate and her mother have also had to manage Coronavirus symptoms. This caused both to become very unwell and caused a decline in the graduates mental health, she was not eating or looking after herself. She continued to engage with our team and her mentor (who has been a fantastic support), which meant she has been able to keep providing meals for her son and is trying her very best to be his teacher. Thankfully, our graduate and her mother are now starting to recover.

To help, we contacted Westminster Foodbank who are delivering food boxes, which has relieved the stress of having to try and buy food on the small income she has. We have been speaking to this graduate twice a week to offer support around benefits, mental and physical health, and anything else we can.

We plan to continue support sessions over Zoom, as this graduates support network is incredibly small, and seeing a different face has been hugely positive.

We wouldn’t have been able to provide this vital support without you. We know times are difficult for lots of us but if you can donate, please do, here.

Dear Members,

It is with a very heavy heart that I write to let you know that our wonderful House of St Barnabas is now closed until further notice.

While the club is closed, our priority remains supporting graduates from our Employment Academy, many of whom had made great progress in their lives and are now finding themselves at risk of being out of work. Our Employment Academy team is in touch with all of our graduates to understand their individual circumstances so we can offer all of the practical support and guidance that we can.

How we will continue to support you

Your membership is still open. The House of St Barnabas goes far beyond our four walls, and we know you need community more than ever. We’re busy creating plans to keep our community connected, inspired and entertained from afar during the closure period. Keep an eye on your inboxes and our social media channels for more about this soon.

How you can continue to support our mission 

We’ve been really touched to hear from many of you who, despite facing uncertainty and worry yourselves, have asked us how you can help. In time, we’ll be able to share more about how you can help our participants and graduates, but for now there’s one simple ask. Can you make a donation to support our work? Our graduates see us as a trusted friend and we’re being inundated with requests for help. For those in a precarious position, you can help us support them to make sure they don’t fall back into homelessness. If you can, please donate here.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for being members and supporting us to break the cycle of homelessless. I would also like to thank our brilliant team in the Club and in the Charity who have worked  with dedication, commitment and charm to make us the special place that we are. The House is almost 300 years old and has been operating as a charity since 1862. It’s weathered some rocky times. We’ll be drawing on all of its resilience to help us move through this challenging period.

In the meantime, please take care of yourself. This is such a strange and difficult time for all of us and we hope that you are all staying safe and sane through the uncertainty.

From Rosie and all of the team at the House of St Barnabas.

Rosie Ferguson

Chief Executive