Building Bridges

Building Bridges supports single homeless people living in Camden Pathways accommodation (hostels and supported accommodation) to build positive and appropriate relationships with their parents, children, siblings, ex-guardians or other people who have been important in their life.

Building Bridges is working in partnership with Relate to deliver this service. Relate staff offer clients advice, relationship counselling, workshops and group sessions, mediation and support face-to-face and by phone.

Relationship counselling helps you to make the most of your relationships, past, present or future.

A large proportion of homeless people will lose contact with loved ones, and for many different reasons. Building Bridges wants to support people to make contact again as we understand that it can be difficult to make the first step alone. We hope that by reconnecting people they can go on to establish more independent and fulfilling lives.

The service has been funded until August 2011 by the London Borough of Camden via an application to the Initiatives Fund.  We are seeking ongoing funding to extend and develop the service.

Useful Links: Relate  

Client Information

Eligibility criteria:

• You must be aged 18 or over
• You must be living in Camden Pathways accommodation (hostel or supported housing)
• You must want to reconnect with someone

All referrals must be made using the Building Bridges referral form. It is a requirement that your keyworker countersigns the form and provides an up-to-date risk assessment.

Building Bridges will provide the following support:

• Regular information and engagement sessions
• Case working
• Counselling
• Group work
• A Reconnections Toolkit and other resource material
• Referrals and signposting to other specialist agencies
• Training for Support Workers across Camden hostels
• Training and guidance in developing life, parenting and relationship skills

We aim to develop peer and mentoring support alongside this over the course of the project.