Project Overview
 |  |  |
| 547 guests sheltered | 195 moved to permanent accommodation | Salaries covered |
GrowTH was established in 2011. It is an initiative run by local churches in Tower Hamlets to respond to homelessness in their local community. The main project is an emergency night shelter which provides both immediate shelter for homeless men and women and assistance in securing more permanent longer-term accommodation. The night shelter operates for seven months of the year.
GrowTH’s services also include supported housing for formerly homeless men as well as the development of social enterprises to assist guests towards mainstream employment.
Over the years, Isla’s funds have allowed This is GrowTH to:
• Shelter 48 guests, including 16 women. The Isla Foundation helped fund the cost of the advocate workers’ salaries. These workers supported the guests during their stay, both practically and emotionally, and helped 56 in more permanent accommodation and 43 into further temporary shelter [2016-2017].
• Shelter 141 guests in the 2017/18 winter with the help of 450 volunteers. Its two advocate workers, partly Isla funded, offered 1-2-1 support to every guest, and helped 57 people access more permanent accommodation [2017-2018].
• Shelter 139 guests, with the eldest being 75 and the youngest, 19. 50 guests moved into more permanent accommodation over the 7 months. Of these 50, 4 entered rehab and 18 entered supported housing. The advocate workers, partly funded by Isla, helped 5 guests onto the Pret Rising Stars programme, which provides full time employment [2018-2019].
• Continue their resettlement project. GrowTH runs this alongside their night shelter each year, and aims to help as many of their homeless guests as possible to find stable housing, as well as any other support they need. Over the six months that the shelter was running, they gave a bed to 119 guests. Of those, they were able to help 32 people into permanent housing, and 55 into further temporary accommodation. Covid-19 has changed everything but GrowTH is still working with guests to help them take steps forwards in life [2019-2020].
