October is busy month for us a homeless charity as it brings a number of awareness days for us to highlight the work we do. One of these is Mental Health Awareness Day, which plays a significant role in homelessness. The other, of course, is World Homeless Day.
This World Homeless Day, we attended an event organised by Medway council. It was a good opportunity hear about the work that services are doing locally and share best practise. It’s sad and shocking that since the first World Homeless Day held on 10/10/2010, homelessness has increased by 74% in this country. Until we address the many systemic failures we have in the UK, it’s unlikely to change or reduce any time soon.
Our AGM was held on 11th October and was an opportunity for staff, trustees and supporters of AMAT to celebrate the successes of 2022/23. We also held an art exhibition to celebrate our Residents and their participation in AMAT’s “home is where the art is” programme, which was funded by The National Lottery Community Fund – Awards for All. . This programme provided a creative outlet for the Residents, reduced social isolation, and improved their well-being. We were also able to fund the mural on the side of the Hive, created in consultation with our Residents by local artist Sam Collins. He has produced something beautiful for people to look at in this much forgotten part of Medway.
I was fortunate with some of our fantastic team to attend the Kent Charity Awards, as we were nominated and shortlisted as finalists in the Kent Large Charity of the Year category. It was a great night, a testament to our hard work and progress and lovely to meet other charities working in Kent.
Another key date in October for me is 9th October as this is my AMATversay. This year I celebrated 19 years of service to this amazing and hard-working charity. I feel proud to work here, and alongside my colleagues, to make a significant difference to homelessness in Medway.
Thanks for reading this, till next time
Jodie.
