Mayor Richard Parker visits Gateway to see impact of our Move On Project

The support covers anything from getting access to and registering with health and wellbeing services, managing bills and finding work and training.

At the visit, Mayor Richard Parker spoke to our Move On Officer, Michelle Brown, alongside people who have been supported by the project.

One of the group, Ali Mahmood, told the Mayor he had benefitted from the Move On Project. He said that the support helped him register with a local doctor and get his CV ready so he could apply for work.

He said: “The project helped me with so much from registering with electricity and gas companies, registering with a local doctor and finding out what was going on in the local community.

“It helped me set up my new home and get some furniture. I am also now registered for work at an agency after Michelle helped with my CV.

Another member of the group, Steve, said he had arrived at Gateway after being evicted from a shared house.

With our support, he has overcome personal challenges and is now living independently in his own flat.

He is also chairman of Gateway Link, a group of current and former Gateway customers who run social activities and use their skills to support each other, from decorating and DIY to helping with removals when they move into their own homes.

Steve said: “Before I came to The Gateway, I was in shared accommodation, surrounded by people drinking and taking drugs, and I’d become a product of my environment. But now I’ve got a far superior support network than I've ever, ever had in my life thanks to The Gateway.

“Helping others through the Gateway Link has given me a sense of purpose, direction and satisfaction in my own life. When I was asked to be the chairman, I thought, someone believes in me. Without that shred of belief I would be on the streets, drinking and taking drugs.”

So far, the Move On Project has helped support 12 people and we will have supported 18 people by the end of March.

Our Move On Officer, Michelle, helps our customers move out of Gateway and settle into their own home and an independent life. She also oversees Gateway Link.

Michelle said: “It was great to be visited by Mayor Richard Parker so he could see the impact the Move On Project has on our customers.

“As a Move On Officer my work is crucial as I’m able to support Gateway customers as they move into their own home and afterwards by helping them with applications for work or registering with doctors to give a couple of examples. Being a Move On Officer helps to provide that extra support when someone is starting their own tenancy as this can be an overwhelming process.

“Everyone we have supported as part of this project has successfully moved into their own home and is managing their own tenancy so we’re really seeing the impact of the project. All of the people we have moved on are successfully sustaining their accommodation, preventing reoccurring homelessness.

Our Move On Project is one of the schemes in the West Midlands receiving part of £1million funding handed to Mayor Richard Parker from the government’s Rough Sleeping Prevention and Recovery Grant programme.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Hearing Steve’s story left me in no doubt about the devastating impact that being homeless can have on someone’s life and how a safe, secure home underpins everything. Without it, health, confidence and opportunity can quickly unravel.

“That’s why I’m using this funding to give more people like him and the others I met at The Gateway the hope they need to get themselves back on their feet. It’s already changed their lives for the better and will do the same for many more.

“But designing out homelessness also means having enough safe, affordable homes and alongside this funding we’re also making really good progress in building more social housing than ever, with 2,000 new homes already in the pipeline and more to come.”