Should we talk about death?

Our Palliative Care Coordinator Andy Knee poses this important question and highlights the innovative ways our Palliative Care Service is supporting clients who are at risk of death or in need of bereavement support.

Should we talk about death? In St Mungo’s Palliative Care team, we think the simple answer to this question is yes.

Death is something that affects us all, that does not discriminate against gender, race, sexuality, culture, or religion. Many of us are fortunate to talk about death and our wishes with loved ones. But what if you don’t have a home? And what if you don’t have family or loved ones to have these conversations with?

This is a sad reality for lots of people who experience homelessness. A reality where many of their deaths will be preventable, undignified and untimely, with no planning for their wishes, and sadly many will be forgotten.

In 2017 there were an estimated 597 deaths of homeless people in England and Wales, which represents a 24% increase since 2013. The NHS has recently reported a rise in homeless patients returning to the streets with many observing a surge in serious illnesses in the past decade such as respiratory conditions, liver disease, and cancer. Without someone to be their voice and their advocate, many individuals will be trapped in a harmful cycle of being admitted to hospital and discharged to the streets. This is something we can change.

Dying Matters Week 2019

‘Are we ready?’ is the poignant theme of this year’s Dying Matters Week, which helps to raise awareness around this issue. At the end of 2018 we responded to the increase in homeless deaths and continue to pave the way in making change for people experiencing homelessness. We know the importance of providing end of life care and support to our clients, and we are using creative and innovative new ways to provide this service.

Our Palliative Care Service

To mark Dying Matters Week, we’re shining a light on our Palliative Care Service. This service is the only one of its kind in the homelessness sector and has benefited from dedicated funders over the last five years.

The purpose of the Palliative Care Service is to coordinate a flexible and responsive care pathway to support clients who have a terminal prognosis or acute and potentially fatal health conditions, and to provide them with options that protect their quality of life. The service works to ensure that our clients can access healthcare and that we provide appropriate support to help them approach the end of their life with dignity and respect.

We meet with local health services, lead change with research, and continue to develop tools and support structures for St Mungo’s. We’re also here to support staff across St Mungo’s to feel empowered and discuss death as openly as possible.

Our aim is to ensure that everyone experiences a ‘good death’. We are also working to destigmatise this term, which holds so much power and importance.

New Befriending Service

This year the service has expanded to include our Palliative Care Volunteer Coordinator, and in June 2019, St Mungo’s will launch a new Befriending Service.

The Befriending Service will serve to support clients that are at risk of death, or clients who need bereavement support for a recent or historical loss. In addition, the Befriending Service will support colleagues and teams around loss and bereavement, reinforcing our message: “you are not alone”.

In response to the theme of Dying Matters Week – “Are we ready?” – St Mungo’s can proudly say “We are, and will continue to be.”

Find our more about our Palliative Care Service.

Thanks to our award-winning volunteers

Iver Morgan, our Head of Volunteering, Apprenticeships and Placements, thanks our amazing and dedicated volunteers as Volunteers’ Week 2018 comes to a close.

On Monday I had the great pleasure of hosting our annual Volunteering Awards celebration in Southwark.

This is a wonderful occasion when we get to say thank you and present awards to some of our outstanding volunteers who’ve supported our clients and our work over the past 12 months – and in many cases, much longer. Once again, we held this at the Table Café, who generously support us in many ways throughout the year.

One award recipient was Jen Burnham, who’s helped us publish our Homeless Diamonds magazine for 20 years. I encourage you to read her blog about how she got started and what she enjoys about it – a great read.

I’d also like to thank the Marsh Christian Trust, who enabled us to present these awards for the last four years. We very much appreciate their support.

Over an average year around 900 people volunteer with us. They provide support to outreach services, helping people sleeping rough, run activity groups and offer information and advice. This makes it very difficult to pick out individuals.

However, alongside Jen, we thought this year that awards should go to Mohammed, Adil, Tee, Juliet and Rebecca.

Volunteers of the Year went to Mohammed and Adil. They volunteer with the Horn of Africa Health and Wellbeing Project in London, which was set up in 2013 to respond to the needs of individuals from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan who had been affected by homelessness. The project is funded by Big Lottery Fund, through the Reaching Communities funding stream, and provides advice on entitlements, access to physical and mental health services, work and learning opportunities, community activities and support to overcome isolation. Mohammed and Adil had both previously approached the project for support when they found themselves homeless as a result of being recognised as a refugee and wanted to give something back. This is a fantastic achievement.

Outstanding Achievement (London) went to Tee. She is a volunteer with the Women’s Group of our client body, Outside In, and facilitates creative and therapeutic sessions each month with women across St Mungo’s services. She is also a Client Advisory Board Member and meets with the Board of Trustees every six weeks to work on the strategic aims of the organisation and ensure the client voice is heard at the top level of governance. Tee draws on her own experiences and uses this as her motivation. Tee spoke in Parliament recently on behalf of St Mungo’s at an event led by SafeLives, a charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse.

We were also pleased to recognise volunteers who work with us in the south west of England.

Volunteer of the Year (south west) is Juliet. She volunteers with the Bristol Assertive Contact and Engagement (ACE) service, where she is an invaluable asset to the service, thanks to her unwavering commitment, enthusiasm and energy. She volunteers with the Women’s Morning wellbeing support group, the Breathing Space group, which provides mental health support for single parents in Knowle West and the LGBTQ+ group, One World. The team says “she goes above and beyond what is expected of her by stepping in and helping whenever she is needed”.

Outstanding Achievement (south west) went to Rebecca. She now volunteers as a Peer Mentor at Mulberry House and Mews in Bath but since completing Peer Mentor training, she has offered a different form of arts or crafts each week. This has engaged clients and enabled them to try a range of new things. She is now able to offer one-to-one support to clients both at Mulberry and in the local community.

Volunteers are an integral part of St Mungo’s and we recognise and value the huge contribution they make. In return, we aim to offer a rewarding experience by providing opportunities to make a significant contribution to help end homelessness, to develop skills in a supportive environment, access training and meet like-minded people.

If you’ve been inspired, please do take a look at our Volunteering opportunities. We look forward to hearing from you.

Twenty vibrant years at St Mungo’s

“The enjoyment of it has kept me going for 20 years. It’s a great pleasure. It’s all the people that I meet and talk to, and the work that I see.”

As we celebrate Volunteers’ Week, Jen Burnham, St Mungo’s Creative Arts Volunteer, tells us about what she’s learned through volunteering.

I’ve been a volunteer at St Mungo’s for 20 years. I was one of the first volunteers on a programme called ‘Make It Work’ which I think was the beginning of a formal volunteering programme at St Mungo’s. Now I understand it has something like 900 volunteers a year!

I’m almost 75 years old now. I’ve always had an interest in art but I never did much with it. In 1998, I was at a dead end in my life and I decided to do some art-related volunteering, including an art group at St Mungo’s in Argyle Street, King’s Cross. I was made very welcome there.

A few years later a member of St Mungo’s literacy team produced a booklet of poems by Argyle Street residents and asked if we had some artwork that could be included. The resulting booklet was much admired and one resident Joe asked, ‘why don’t we do this on a regular basis?’ That was the beginning of Homeless Diamonds magazine. It started as a photocopied A5 booklet for art and writing from the King’s Cross area; it’s now a glossy A4 magazine for all of St Mungo’s and a bit beyond (thanks to support from Regional Director David Devoy, who from the start has supported the project).

We produce three editions of Homeless Diamonds per year, each containing the work submitted since the previous issue – no more and no less. Everyone who submits will have something printed. On the suggestion of contributors we have recently set themes for particular editions, but always maintain this submission policy.

Producing Homeless Diamonds is a big, varied job; the hardest (and most rewarding) bit is gaining contacts with residents throughout St Mungo’s and encouraging them to contribute. We are very lucky to have our volunteer designer, Gasan, who has designed most of our editions. When all is gathered, typed, corrected, photographed and laid out for the printers we can look forward to celebrating with a little launch party; then the task is to get our 350 copies distributed, to all the contributors and to as many residents of St Mungo’s as we can,

It’s clear that contributors value the magazine, and that it gives them a great boost to see their work printed in a quality publication. It’s a wonderful way to communicate across boundaries, at a more personal level.

The enjoyment of it has kept me going for 20 years. It’s nice to see contributors as they progress in various ways (including working at St Mungo’s) – many have told us how much their engagement with the magazine has helped them. There is a huge pool of experience, and talent, at St Mungo’s, a resource of great value to society.

Volunteering has helped me a lot. I had lost confidence in myself when I started, and it gave me an experience of being valued that I really needed. And I stumbled upon such interesting people, such remarkable characters! So the feeling was mutual!

I hope Homeless Diamonds will continue, perhaps as part of St Mungo’s Recovery College, when I get too dotty to carry on.

If you have some spare time and would like to make a difference to someone who is experiencing homelessness or a decline in mental health please visit St Mungo’s current volunteering opportunities. You can also email: VolunteerServices@mungos.org or call 020 3856 6160 for more information.

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