Winter 2021 Newsletter

Derby City Mission is preparing itself for another challenging Winter

As Coronavirus remains a challenge for us all, we are unable to deliver the homeless churches nightshelters this year. But, we continue to still provide for the homeless over this period, we are just having to be creative in how we do this.

In the city of Derby, our Safe Space service is ongoing. 24/7 provision for the most entrenched homeless in Derby, bringing; a place of safety, a place where people can get warm, have a shower, wash clothes, watch some TV, get something to eat. We’re keen for volunteers to get involved. This service will be stretched over the winter as more demand will be asked of it.

Alongside this, we’re starting a new project called MyPlace, where twenty individuals with offending pasts are being given the opportunity to have their own place to live. Two staff members will be supporting them over the next year to maintain the accommodation, and begin to look at other areas of their lives, encouraging them to make better decisions then they may have done in the past.

In Derbyshire, we’ve been unable to source a venue as we did last year in Mount Cook, but Derby City Mission are working with the local authorities across Derbyshire to provide floating support to any homeless who are placed in Bed and Breakfast or hotels across the county. This could be from Buxton in the north, all the way down to Swadlincote.

We are working with Freedom, a charity based in Bolsover who have experience
supporting people in accommodation. We will have small teams of staff travelling
around the county, making sure people are well, fed, cared for and supported into
more permanent accommodation. We are doing this in liaison with mental health
services, drug and alcohol services and housing providers.

Regarding food provision, we’re seeking creative help in various locations as to
how this might work. For example, in Chesterfield the churches are coming
together with a team of volunteers to offer a hot meal every day to those staying in
B&B’s. Could something similar happen in your area? Or do you know of a café that
might be happy to accept a voucher or token system for meals. The main areas we will be supporting are Buxton, Chesterfield, Sandiacre, Swadlincote and Matlock.

Please pray for God’s provision of resources and staff as we start on these new ventures. That any homeless in the city or the county experience the care and love of Jesus through staff and volunteers this winter.

As a charity, there are so many schemes where we can benefit from your individual spending. In most cases you may have to link our charity to your online account, or make a simple change on where you buy your milk and bread. Here are a few ways that Derby City Mission can benefit from your spending, without you even knowing!

Are you a Coop member?

Why not choose Derby City Mission as your local cause and raise funds for our Wellness Café? Every time a member buys selected Co-op own brand products and services at their local Coop store, 2p of every pound they spend is put into our account. Don’t forget to swipe your membership card when you’re buying your groceries. If you’re not a member, you can join at www.coop.co.uk/membership

When you’re spending on Amazon, sign in to smile.amazon.co.uk on your desktop or mobile phone browser.

Go to Your Account and select the option to Change your Charity to Derby City Mission.

It’s the same Amazon we all love, but every time you spend, through Amazon Smile, we will receive 0.5% of your eligible purchases!

The ‘Give As You Live’ website has teamed up with over 4,500 online and high street names to support Derby City Mission.

When you shop via giveasyoulive.com, we receive a donation from the retailer as a thank you, at no cost to you!

As a charity, we rely heavily on the financial contribution that comes from the fundraising activities of individuals, organisations and businesses.

We benefit in many ways; financial support means we can pay salaries, pay for buildings and resources, but most importantly, provide support to those in need. This can sometimes be with food parcels, emergency accommodation, administration costs for debt relief orders or even vital supplies. Did you know that while Derby City Mission and our clients benefit from fundraising activities, so do you! Research shows that people who volunteer and help others have fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety. This could be through small unplanned acts, such as a smile, thoughtful gesture or regular volunteering. Scientifically, there is a proven link between happiness and helping others.

Acts 20:35 ‘In everything I did, I showed you that by this
kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering
the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed
to give than to receive.’

As well as the external benefits, the internal benefits can be,

• Helping to keep things in perspective
• Being part of a team and community
• Blessing others is a blessing
• Reducing stress and pressure
• Improving self-esteem

If you are interested in fundraising for us, click here or visit: www.derbycitymission.org.uk/fundraise

Over the last 18 months, our Food Bank and Jubilee Project have been in great demand. The pandemic has led to further redundancies, more debt, increased social isolation and a government-predicted tsunami of debt is about to hit our communities. Many are on the cliff edge of falling into further difficulties.

The Jubilee clinics are now open to meet with individuals in person and there has been a sharp increase of first-time debt, job loss and financial strain cases. Many agencies in the city are experiencing backlogs and unfortunately individuals are needing food parcels for longer. It’s vital that we continue to work with individuals to ensure that the financial and food insecurities do not lead to tenancy insecurities and homelessness. Our focus is always to prevent further need and to move people from chaos to becoming contributing members of the society. Head of Poverty Prevention, Sarah Fowler, recently heard from a former client who had been released from debt by a Debt Relief Order (DRO) who rang to say it had changed her life! She is still debt-free, living in a lovely flat with her son, and was happy for the first time in years.

In order to continue this much-needed work and be best placed to weather the wave of debt approaching, we have taken a step of faith and recruited a new Debt & Benefit Adviser, who started in August 2021 to strengthen our Poverty Prevention team. This advice service is offered free to the client and therefore the costs of employing these specialist advisers can only be met through the continued support of financial donors. Many ministries have changed since the pandemic and
are looking to meet the needs of our communities (including mental health support,) in other ways. Our Nightshelter won’t be taking place again this year, so we are asking many of our usual Nightshelter donors to consider donating to Jubilee instead: www.derbycitymission.org.uk/give

We were able to spend some time with Melanie Leicester, who told us just that…

“I started volunteering for Derby City Mission by supporting the Winter Nightshelter, 7 years ago. As my main experience was catering I became a team Leader in the kitchen, helping to organise a team of volunteers to cook a hot meal for up to 40 guests. Whilst volunteering in the shelters I got to meet and talk to different guests, from many different walks of life, and this fired a passion inside of
me to want to serve and help these people.

I continued annually working in the night shelters of Derby until the Covid Pandemic
meant they could no longer operate. Three years ago, my passion to want to serve and to be, ‘the hands, feet and voice of Our Lord,’ saw me continuing my volunteering commitment and applying to become a Street Pastor. Being able to walk the streets of Derby, as part of an amazing team of volunteers, offering support, help and comforting words whilst praying over the city has become a
monthly normal part of my life.

Over the years that I’ve volunteered with Derby City Mission, there have been some
great memorable experiences. A few years ago, I met a guest at Nightshelter, he was homeless and was in real need. Over the time connecting with Derby City Mission, he was able to transform his life. He was able to secure full time work and his own flat… 4 years on he is still there and doing really well.

Street Pastors really is like being the fourth Emergency Service. We have a lot of experiences together, some quite stressful and challenging. These experiences really do bring us together as a team. It actually means we are a BIG FAMILY, working together to bring the love of Jesus to the streets of Derby.

While I’ve given my time and commitment as a volunteer, I’ve also received so much back from volunteering, even experiences that have helped me secure a great full-time job as an Outreach Support Worker. I’ve gained so many skills from volunteering; listening, empathising and experiencing first-hand the chaotic and unstable lifestyles of the guests we deal with. Volunteering pushed me to learn about myself, to realise my limits, to understand what I really wanted from my life.

Volunteering has also helped me understand what and where God wanted me to be and what he wanted me to do…

Julio, DCM CEO once said to me “You always seem to be in the midst of things happening and this is because God has equipped you to cope with these situations and He puts the right people in the right places!”

I am thankful for Derby City Mission, for the wonderful group of people I volunteer with, that have become a second family. I’m blessed to have been able to volunteer and see a difference that our commitment makes to people’s lives.

Poverty Prevention

Please pray as the Jubilee team prepare for the oncoming volume of pandemic debt we are expecting to see.

Community Outreach

There is lots of uncertainty in the city centre at night as restrictions are eased and reinstalled. Please pray for protection of our Street Pastors.

Please pray that God’s Holy Spirit will move over our city to bring an atmosphere of calm and peace throughout the night time economy.

Crisis Support

Please believe with us for our Safe Space guests to come to faith and fight addictions.

Please pray for God’s provision of resources and staff as we start on these new Winter Provision ventures.

In the run up to Christmas, we again teamed up with Derby’s Food 4 Thought
Alliance and #LoveYourNeighbour projects to collect and distribute presents to those children who might not otherwise receive anything at this time of year.
Due to the circumstances faced by many this past couple of years, we’ve seen a huge demand for this service this year, with 850 children being nominated to receive a gift.

Thank you to all those who have given to the scheme, whether that be financially or by purchasing via our Amazon gift list. 

We thank God that through your generosity we have received enough presents for all those that have been nominated.

PRAYER WEEK 2022! 

10th-15th January 2022 from 1pm-3pm

Join us to pray online/ on zoom by clicking the following link - https://www.derbycitymission.org.uk/Event/2022-week-of-prayer-10th-14th-january 

More details about the our annual Prayer Week including the full structure and prayer topics can be found here. - https://www.derbycitymission.org.uk/Event/2022-week-of-prayer-10th-14th-january 

In these uncertain times, it is hard to confirm what events will be able to take place and in what form they will take.

Derby City Mission is a Christian Charity and hold firmly to the belief that without God, we are unable to achieve anything, therefore prayer plays a major role in all that we do and we are keen to keep these opportunities for prayer in our diaries, join us!

Please visit our website to keep up to date with our plans for these events going forward. www.derbycitymission.org.uk/events