Spotlight on Hope Housing & Hope AOK Rucksack Appeal

Earlier this month we announced our charity partner for our abseil event is Hope Housing and Hope AOK Rucksack Appeal. We’re aiming to raise up to £25,000 from the event on 29th March so they can continue their amazing work with the most vulnerable members within our local community and to help spread awareness of their work.

Hope Housing was launched in 2009 with the aim of protecting the most vulnerable members of society in Bournemouth. It provides support for homeless and vulnerable adults, with services ranging from supported housing, training, skills workshops, counselling and rehabilitation projects, all with the objective of helping people into independent living and employment.

Hope has 12 properties across Bournemouth and Poole, housing approximately 90 residents. Each resident has a support worker, who conducts initial assessments, helping to identify their individual needs and how to go about fulfilling their short, medium and long-term goals. Many residents have faced a variety of issues, including homelessness, criminal activity, drugs and alcohol abuse, unemployment, mental health problems as well as personal problems such as lack of family support. Hope Housing provides the necessary one-to-one support from professionals to help people overcome these issues and help build the foundations needed for independent living.

Hope AOK Rucksack Appeal was started in 2015 by Sally Harvey, who identified a growing need to supply warm clothing and essentials to those on the streets of Bournemouth. The appeal quickly grew, and in the last 12 months over 900 packs have been given out to people within Dorset. In 2018, Sally retired and chose Hope Housing to continue the running of the appeal due to their own relationship with helping those most in need.

The appeal offers the following packs:

  • Rucksacks – these are provided to homeless people who have engaged with an agency. It contains essential warm clothing, toiletries and other useful items.
  • Move In Packs – these packs are for those who are moving from the streets into hostels/temporary accommodation. The pack will usually contain enough products for 3 days of use, with a variety of items included such as new clothing, a toiletry bag with essential toiletries, a towel, a few cleaning materials and laundry powder, toilet paper and some kitchen essentials including plates, a bowl, cutlery, tin opener and a microwaveable container.
  • Move On Packs – these packs are for those who are moving from hostels into independent living, and help give residents more items to settle into living in their own accommodation. These packs include bedding (sheet, duvet and cover, pillow and case), a set of saucepans, kettle, toaster, iron, kitchen utensils and any other household items that the appeal has in storage.

The Hope AOK Rucksack Appeal also has a “Second Chance Store”, for people who need additional clothes, specific clothing or other household items. Most of the clothing has been donated, but some items are purchased to meet demands when supplies have run low, or when specialist work clothes are needed. Items are requested by those that the charity and other agencies help, with some required when residents have first moved into a hostel as they need additional clothing, or later on when residents need formal clothing for interviews and special occasions. The Second Chance Store acts as an incentive and boost for those that are trying very hard to turn their lives around, by helping residents to be clean, tidy and better-dressed, helping to build their confidence and self-esteem and help them in getting back into the community.

Hope Housing and Hope AOK Rucksack Appeal help some of the most vulnerable members in our community, helping to give them the support and advice they need to turn their lives around. The money raised from our charity abseil will help to continue funding and maintaining the storage facility where all the items included in the packs for the Hope AOK Rucksack Appeal are kept, ensuring that this can continue and help more people within Bournemouth and its surrounding area. Hope Housing estimate it costs £1,500 to get a resident from hostel/temporary accommodation back on their feet and into independent accommodation, and the more donations the charity receive the more people they can help.

To support Hope Housing and Hope AOK Rucksack Appeal, visit our Just Giving page here.