Father Hudson’s Society and the Hope project

In 1985 the Infant Jesus Sisters moved onto the Heath Town Estate, a deprived area of Wolverhampton.  They found people who were lonely, full of fear, forgotten by society, by the Church, isolated and with little hope in their lives. They set up the Hope Community and started door to door visiting, working with others to build up community on the estate. Father Hudson’s Society was invited to be a partner with the Sisters.

Today the sisters have moved on from direct work.  There is a team of paid staff and committed volunteers who carry on the mission started by the sisters.  We recognise that everyone is made in the image of God and our strength is in our openness to everyone; without judgement or prejudice we offer a truly independent hand of support.

The population of Heath Town now includes asylum seekers and refugees from different parts of the world who have come to the area as part of the Government’s dispersal programme.  These are some of the most needy families; many are desperate for friendship and support.  When a family is refused asylum it is hard to find words of comfort or hope for them, we listen and pray for them and provide what practical and emotional support we can.  We feel humble in the face of such distress.

Our work begins with door knocking and visiting people and families in their own homes.  It is in this way that we build relationships with them and they learn to trust us.  We can then offer support in whatever way it is needed.  This can be support with parenting or managing their children’s behaviour.  It could be help with filling in forms, finding their way around or learning basic English.  Sometimes people just need someone to talk to. 

Services

Outreach
Door knocking is how the team meet most of the individuals and families with whom they work.  They then visit on a regular basis to build confidence and trust. Outreach is the core of the work of Hope Family Project; it is what makes the project unique.

Family Support in the Home
Supporting families in the home is an important aspect of the work. The team offers support for parents whose children have behavioural problems, or may not be attending school.  A Play and Learn service is also offered in the home to encourage parents/carers and their pre-school children to play and interact together

Community Celebrations and Summer Programme
Hope hosts community celebrations throughout the year, to raise awareness of different cultures and faiths, celebrating life together.  It initiated the first Heath Town Carnival in 2006. The Project raises funds each year to take people from the community on outings to different parts of the country, including Gulliver’s Kingdom, Wicksteed Theme Park, Chester Zoo, Weston-super-Mare, Blackpool Lights ,Drayton Manor Theme Park and sea-side trips.

The Centre

The Centre is very busy. During the week five groups meet regularly .

There is junior mixed group (6-9 yrs old) ,a boys group ( 10-16 yrs old ) , two girls groups ( 10-14 yrs old and 14-16 yrs old), a parent and toddler play and learn group and an adults group.  The mix of nationalities is an outstanding feature of the groups.

New Needs
In 2007 Hope began to focus on more one to one support for young people and even more varied activities and events, with the support of the Rank Foundation. In 2008 with the support of the Lottery Reaching Communities Fund Hope was able to respond more, and in new ways, to the needs of the lone elderly, and to families affected by domestic violence and the impact of alcohol and other addictions, as well as to ensure all the children’s work continued and was strengthened. 

Funding

Hope relies mainly on external grants. Father Hudson’s Society, through its Community Projects Manager, devotes a great deal of time to secure this funding for the project. Father Hudson’s Society employs all the staff and also provides financial services support.

Between 2003 and 2006 grants from the Community Fund, Children In Need and the NRF enabled the Project to really extend its services. During this time Father Hudson’s Society continued to provide core funding and Lloyds TSB and the Waterside Trust were very helpful with smaller but critical grant support.

In 2006 most of the funding ended and substantial efforts to secure ongoing funding during the whole of the previous year were not successful. Children in Need did agree to one further year’s support which enabled two posts to continue. Father Hudson’s Society, the Infant Jesus Sisters and the parish of St. Patrick’s agreed to work together to try to ensure Hope could continue to offer a full range of services for another full year. This would give more time to try again to secure external funding support .Each contributed a significant one off donation in this emergency situation, since all believed the needs were great and that the current staff team were very experienced and able to respond to the needs .

During 2007 a bid to the Lottery was resubmitted and relationships were formed with the Rank Foundation to develop a Youth project .With the support of the Church Urban Fund, the Parish of St. Patrick’s and the Waterside Trust another post was also secured. 

In November 2007 the Big Lottery –Reaching Communities Fund –agreed to fund three core team front line posts for three years –guaranteeing Hope the opportunity to develop new services and to build on existing services .

Thanks to this funding ,during 2008-9, Hope developed its work with isolated older members of the community -establishing regular group leisure and exercise sessions in easily accessible Community flats ,a telephone befriending service, homevisiting to those unable to leave their homes and organised outings .Hope, together with Holy Trinity Church and the Local Neighbourhood Partnership , provides a monthly Lunch club attended by over thirty older people.

Increased support for families affected by Domestic abuse has been another new and much valued service that has been developed during 2008-9 .

The children’s and young people’s work and the support for older people and for families affected by domestic abuse is enabled and enriched by the Hope team’s determination to do outreach work . 

Donated Items

Hope runs a small shop staffed by volunteers which distributes clothing and children’s equipment – donations of good quality clothing etc are always welcome.

Contact The Project Manager or the Administrator on 01902 556645