As you may know, we have had an interesting year so far. Following a flood earlier this year we were forced to shut the Gateway Centre where we run Genesis Life Projects. The closure illuminated a great need for a place in the city where people can come, feel safe and get support.

Can you help Genesis Life Projects continue to support people at our temporary location, Genesis on the Canal?

Last year Genesis Life Projects supported 631 vulnerable people, who collectively visited 14,174 times.

• When the Gateway Centre shut, our clients lost their day centre, their place to meet together socially.
• They lost their space to connect with us and other agencies to resolve issues around housing, drugs & alcohol, benefits and jobs.
• Lost a place to have a shower, get free haircuts, bring their pets to see the vet, see a dentist.
• Lost a place to attend a new course or an existing activity they’d come to enjoy.
• And they lost the place where they felt accepted, loved, respected and not judged.

The result was loneliness and anxiety.

Thanks to the supportive community we have around us, Genesis Life Projects is now able to continue working with those who need us through ‘Genesis on the Canal’ in Widcombe, whilst we renovate the Gateway Centre.

Please help Genesis Life Projects continue to provide a place where anyone can come as they are and get the support they need.

Modeling resilience to existing clients

Some clients have embraced the new space and we have been encouraged by the growth in attendance at Genesis on the Canal. But there are others who have not yet returned. This is not because they don’t need support, but because the change is overwhelming and daunting.

We know some clients struggle to move out of an area they know well and can often feel very vulnerable travelling to the opposite side of the city. Many want to stay with the familiar because it feels safest.

The move to Genesis on the Canal is an opportunity for us to demonstrate how, when you ask for help and work with others, change can be positive.

Please help our staff reach those struggling with the location change. By using our experience with change, we can model resilience and reflect hope.

Reflecting hope to new clients

The location change has brought some new clients and some who are finding Genesis afresh. People like Maxwell, who has been homeless twice and is currently living on a small boat on the canal. He had been to the Gateway Centre a few times but found it too big and busy next to the London Road.

‘The approach [to Genesis on the Canal] is so peaceful and easier for me to get to, so I’ve been coming more frequently. I come for the coffee, to shower, get some clothes and food. But mostly I come to chat. I don’t have the type of friends I can talk to about things like loss or mourning, so the staff have become those friends for me.’

With your help Genesis Life Projects can continue to support more people like Maxwell throughout our community.

Please help us continue to model resilience and reflect hope.

Thank you so much for your support.