Dear Supporter

Please accept this newsletter as our DENS Christmas card to you.

We hope to offer you a snapshot of what we have been up to and to

thank you sincerely for your regular, generous and invaluable

support over the last year, we simply couldn’t operate without you.

Whilst many of us will have exciting plans for Christmas with

our family and friends, there are others who are homeless and

facing a particularly difficult and lonely time of year. At DENS,

we recognise how desperate the Christmas period can be and we

make a real effort to create a safe, homely and festive atmosphere

at our Day Centre and Night Shelter. Our Christmas food hampers

bring essentials plus a few extras to families in crisis.

Next Spring, Dacorum Borough Council will open The Elms,

providing temporary emergency accommodation for the most

vulnerable people within our society. We are excited and honoured

to have been awarded the contract to manage this new venture and

in this newsletter we explain some of our hopes and plans. We will

bring you further news on this next time along with the latest

from our other vital services.

In the meantime, we wish you every blessing for Christmas and

the New Year.

Andrew Liversidge, Chief Executive

Christmas Newsletter

Wishing you all a very happy Christmas & New Year, from all of us at DENS!

These quotes were collected from service

users and volunteers for the All Saints

Christmas Tree Festival.

St Albans Abbey Sleepout

DENS supporters turned out in large numbers in December at the 21st annual St Albans Abbey Sleepout.

119 DENS sleepers faced the freezing cold temperatures, a bitter wind and uncomfortably hard ground. The event gave participants a chance to experience the realities of rough sleeping, and to highlight the issue of homelessness during the winter months.

Thank you to sleepers from:

Henkel, SA Law, Osborne, SJD Accounting, Dacorum Borough Council, police cadets, individual volunteers & staff and many local churches and youth groups

DENS Dacorum Foodbank Winter Cash Appeal

£20,000 is needed by the end of December 2014 in order to cover running costs such as staff salaries, transport, premises, heating, lighting, computer and phone costs. A further £20,000 is then required by March 2015.

• Last year the Foodbank provided support to 3574 people in Dacorum. • 72% only needed one parcel to see them through a short term crisis• It costs £15 to send a family a parcel of food for 3 days

We cannot let down the people who need the support that the Foodbank gives – please help us keep this part of our work operational.

To find out more, or if you can contribute, go to www.DENS.org.uk/winterappeal

“It is always an event with a lot of youngsters and

it’s a good education for them to experience the

cold and hard ground and how scary it feels to be

so exposed.”

“Fortunately it’s just one night for us. We know

that this money will be put to really good use

supporting local homeless people.”

Participants have been asking family and friends to sponsor them for sleeping out, and so far have raised an incredible £8,000 for DENS.

It’s not too late to contribute and support DENS services to ensure that nobody in Dacorum has to spend the night out in the open. To sponsor a sleeper visit justgiving.com/dens

In Spring 2015 Dacorum Borough Council will be opening The Elms, in Redbourn Road, Hemel Hempstead, which will provide 41 single people with temporary accommodation. DENS has been awarded the contract to manage this new venture, following a very rigorous tendering process.

Here’s an idea of the changes for our service users:

• At present our Night Shelter can only provide dormitory accommodation for 10 people, sharing one bathroom and one shower room. The Elms will have 41 single rooms, each with a built in pod providing a shower and toilet.

• Some of the rooms will have access to a small kitchen, giving people the opportunity to cater for themselves.

• The Night Shelter is only open from 6pm to 8am and service users have to leave after breakfast. Whilst some use the Day Centre others have to find something to do all day. The Elms will be open 24 hours a day. This will also mean that Project Workers and Service Users can jointly progress the individual’s action plan at a time when other agencies will be working.

• One to one meetings between our Project Workers and Service Users have to take place in the Night Shelter office which was not always convenient. The Elms will have dedicated interview rooms which will be used by our staff as well as officers from DBC and people from other support agencies in the area.

• DENS currently provide education opportunities and life skills training wherever we can find space. The Elms will have purpose built training suites and will also provide the opportunity for individuals to take part in social, recreational and sports activities.

But there are a number of things which will not be changing:

• The quality and nature of the support we provide.

• The opportunity to progress from supported accommodation to independent living using the opportunities offered by DENS Rent Aid.

• Access to our Employment, Training and Education project – giving individuals help in returning to useful employment.

• The opportunities to socialise with our fantastic volunteers. In fact being open 24 hours a day will mean that we will be looking for more volunteers who can come in during the day.

A lot of hard work has gone into getting DENS this far and more will be needed before The Elms opens next Spring - but that will only be the start.

A look at The Elms

“This is a great opportunity to continue our work, helping the homeless in and around Dacorum back into independent living, but on a larger scale. We have already established the DENS Pathway, an integrated approach incorporating all of the DENS services, and we look forward to extending this in working with DBC.”

- Paul, Night Shelter Manager

What DENS does at Christmas

Christmas - Bah Humbug?

(Well not at DENS!)

Just because you are homeless, or in financial crisis, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to enjoy Christmas. Bearing this in mind the staff at DENS make sure that the season of goodwill to all people is part of what we deliver.

Christmas Day at DENS

Those who are rough sleeping, or are part of the “hidden homeless”, are given the opportunity to have a traditional Christmas dinner at the Day Centre, in fact the numbers using the Day Centre means that there are two sittings of this meal, on consecutive days. But it doesn’t stop there. Guests also are given a small gift and, of course, join in the party spirit with a quiz. On each day the winner of the quiz is given a food hamper, provided by the Day Centre staff.

The users of the Night Shelter normally can only have access between 6pm and 8am. However those people who are in the Night Shelter on Christmas Eve know that they have somewhere to stay for a full 24 hours a day right through to the day after Boxing Day. The highlight of this stay is of course Christmas Day which starts with volunteers coming in to prepare a full cooked breakfast. This is followed by the opportunity to relax, open presents (donated by volunteers and other supporters) before settling down to their Christmas dinner, with all of the appropriate extras. Although individuals can come and go during this time the majority of people

choose to stay at the hostel, which has been decorated by service users, and enjoy the safe and homely atmosphere, and of course party games. If catering for people who are staying wasn’t enough for the staff and volunteers, we also invite up to 24 of those who have recently been through the hostel to join us on Christmas Day.

Christmas Hampers

DENS doesn’t just help those who are homeless. Throughout the year DENS provides emergency food parcels to those in crisis who have been referred by our partner agencies across the Borough.

At Christmas all of those agencies are asked to nominate individuals, or families, to receive a Christmas hamper. These hampers are made up, by volunteers at the Foodbank, with all of the essentials for a Christmas together with a few extras donated by our supporters. On Christmas Eve these hampers are supplemented by goods from Ocado, including turkeys. The hampers are then distributed, to those who have been nominated, by yet another group of volunteers. We also send hampers to local organisations who are providing shelter to those in need.

All in all DENS makes a real effort to ensure that the Christmas period just that bit more festive for those people we support, but of course we only can do this because of the dedication of our staff, the commitment of our volunteers and the generosity of our supporters.

Thanks for your support!

We’ve received some great support from local businesses recently, here are some examples:

Irene Soares organised another Curry Night, raising £420

The Waitrose store in Berkhamsted nominated DENS to be one of 3 local causes in their

Community Matters scheme in November, which donates £1,000 a month between the

selected charities. Shoppers received a token at checkout, and could drop it in the box of their favourite charity, with the money being divided

based on the proportion of tokens.

Vanarama and Autorama have launched a new offer to support DENS. Just rent a van or car and

quote the referral code ‘DENS’, and they’ll donate £25 to DENS.

www.vanarama.co.uk

Tesco stores in Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring held collections for

the Foodbank over a weekend in November. In addition to the food that was donated by

shoppers, Tesco matched the value of donations made by 30%. Many thanks to

everyone who donated food or volunteered.

DENS were featured on local radio twice in November, with guest interviews on

Radio Dacorum and BBC Three Counties

Dacorum Community Choir held a concert in December,

raising £1,057 for DENS

All Saints Church in Berkhamsted held a Christmas Tree Festival in

December, with part of the proceeds going to DENS

Local businessman Andy Cook is running the London Marathon for DENS in April. You

can read about Andy’s training and sponsor

him here.

Students from Swifts House at Berkhamsted Boys School held a sponsored sleepout, spending the night sleeping in the open

and raising £1,513 for DENS

Friends and family of Paul Cook organised Cookie Fest in September, a music festival that

raised £3,270 for DENS

Tring Together organised a carol service and collection,

raising £1,355

Julia Stanyon held a Mulled Wine and Mince

Pies Evening, raising £221

Berkhamsted Chiropractic Clinic pledged one day’s takings of 4 staff in December, raising £1,095

When: 7.30pm - Saturday 21st March 2015 Where: Astley Cooper School Cost: £12.00 (incl. fish and chip supper)

Could you run a fundraising event for us? We are holding two sessions on Saturday 24th January and Thursday 29th January to give some expert hints and tips.

Find out more from fundraising@dens.org.uk

To book tickets or for more information about fundraising for DENS:Tel: 01442 800268; Email: fundraising@dens.org.uk; web: www.DENS.org.uk

Get involved in 2015!

After the festive season is over, we all need something to look forward toso we’re offering the ideal solution...

Spring Quiz - 21st March 2015!

Sunday 2nd August Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100This 100 mile bike race takes you through Central London and the Surrey countryside, partly along the route of the London 2012 Olympic Cycling.

Get fit in the New Year and raise sponsorship money for DENS by running or cycling in a race. Sign up today to take part and raise money for DENS!

Call us now for further details!

Sunday 12th July British 10k London Run The British 10k London Run is staged on the world’s greatest road race route through the heart of central London passing by many historic landmarks.

Want to get fit in the New Year?

• Tables can be made up of 6 - 8 people• Fish & chip supper provided• Bring your own drinks and glasses

Bring your friends &

family &

join us for an

entertaining evening

ofquestions,food&

fun!

Saturday 21st March Spring Quiz Astley Cooper School

Saturday 16th May Sponsored Walk 10 mile circular route via Bovingdon & Chipperfield Sunday 12th July British 10k London Run Run for DENS - 5 places left

For more details on these events please visit our website www.DENS.org.uk, email us at fundraising@dens.org.uk or give us a call on 01442 800268!

Events coming up in 2015

DENS, Bury Lodge, 1 Queensway, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP1 1HTTel: 01442 262274; Email: office@dens.org.uk, Web: www.DENS.org.uk

Charity no. 1097185 Company no. 4610820

◊Visit www.justgiving.com/DENS

◊ Become a Friend of DENS◊ Send us a cheque made payable to DENS

◊ Or text us through JustTextGiving! Simply text DENS01 £2/£5/£10 to 70070

◊Visit our Charity Shop & Furniture Warehouse

Put these dates in your diary now!!

You can support homeless people and those at risk of becoming homeless by making a donation today!

Did you know that a…. £10 donation could pay for one night’s dinner in the Night Shelter £20 donation could pay for a one-to-one advice session

£50 donation could pay for a service user to attend a skills training session

Ifyouseearoughsleeperoverthewinterperiod,notify StreetLink on:

0300 500 0914