written by Maggs
Maggs Day Centre is a registered charity, providing shelter and support to people who are experiencing homelessness and are vulnerable throughout Worcestershire. Maggs was founded in 1984 after a homeless man died after years of sleeping rough on the streets of Worcester. Five members of a local church came together in unity to provide sanctuary for the homeless to try and prevent further deaths among local homeness people. They were provided with a small church in Worcester city centre, which 40 years later now provides support for nearly 300 homeless and vulnerable people each year. Maggs also runs a day centre in Malvern, a Clothing Project providing essential items such as sleeping bags, clothes and shoes, an Outreach Team which provides one to one support across the county to keep service users safe, a Harm Reduction Team supporting people with substance misuse issues, and an Accommodation Project, which offers housing for former rough sleepers.
We are most grateful to The Beer-Harris Memorial Trust for their kind donation towards meeting the costs of our support workers who assist people with mental health issues. We work with the most marginalised groups in society, many unable to fulfil primary basic needs. Forty five per cent of people experiencing homelessness have a mental health issue. This rises to 8 out of 10 people who are sleeping rough (Shelter Report 2023). The onset of mental illness can trigger, or be part of, a series of events that can lead to homelessness.
We focus on ‘what’s happened’ rather than asking ‘what’s wrong’ to build trust and engage with service users so they can gain the support they need to move their lives forward. In short, Maggs provides a lifeline and so much more for homeless and vulnerable people, helping them to eventually move on to independent living.
Our support workers play a vital role in helping to improve service users’ mental health from helping them access counselling and NHS mental health services, running wellbeing activities, helping them to understand how the ‘system’ works so they can access the financial support they are entitled to, and just being there listen and provide emotional support and reduce social isolation.
Project Impact
The numbers below refer to individuals assisted
| PROJECT OUTCOMES: | |
| Reduction in risks to self and other | 217 |
| Reduction in anxiety and depression | 239 |
| Accessing substance misuse services | 71 |
| Reduction in isolation | 248 |
| Access and attend the relevant mental health support | 119 |
| Improved ability to self-care | 48 |
| Service users able to access external support agencies independently | 184 |
| Ability to express their individual needs without becoming aggressive | 172 |
| Reconnection to their area of local connection | 23 |
John’s Journey
John is in his 50’s and has struggled with severe trauma, mental health problems and substance issues for many years. He was stuck in the cycle of rough sleeping, losing tenancies and addiction issues and was identified as someone needing intensive support.
Since working with our team, he has found supported accommodation with bespoke intervention for his mental health and addiction concerns. We provide John with a consistent point of contact who he can turn to at all times.
Our dedicated teams support John by ensuring other agencies that need to be involved in his care and support needs come to the table and all work together to achieve positive outcomes for him, whether that be mental health services, addiction and recovery workers, physical health practitioners, or adult social care services.
Visit Maggs Day Centre website for more information.
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