by ‘Martin’
‘Martin’ (not his real name) completed a course in restorative practice with us in partnership with the Lived Experience Advisory Forum (LEAF) in Oxford. Below, he shares why restorative practice is important in the homelessness and housing sector:
Hello, I live in Oxford and have experience of homelessness, rough sleeping and long-term mental health problems. During COVID, the old YHA, by Oxford Railway Station, was used as one of the emergency shelters during “everyone in”. We were well looked after and all had a room to ourselves but the pressure of being in there started to tell for many of us. There were people who were wide awake at three in the morning shouting and banging around; for others it was the occasional fire alarm set off by smokers at all hours of the day.
For me, one of the quieter ones I had times I wanted to scream and shout because of this. I am autistic and noise is very painful. I wanted to join in the banging just to let off steam. Others and I am very fortunate not to be one, had addictions to alcohol and drugs. This could lead to arguments when someone wanted money back that they had leant to someone else. Clothes lost / stolen from the washing machine and so on.
In short there were many reasons why people could get into an argument. Remember, a high percentage had some form of mental health issue or at the very least, the trauma of being homeless and being thrown together. This is not a good mix. There are times when things flare up.
It would have reduced the pressure on very hard-working staff (12-hour shifts) and reduced the arguments, if we had people coming in to bring a fresh approach to our problems.
From having completed a course in restorative practice, I can see the benefits it would have brought to us in the YHA and certainly to those in temporary accommodation like O’Hanlon House and Matilda House.
By defusing problems, it reduces the risk of either walking out (abandoning accommodation) or having to be excluded. Think of the benefits:
For the individual: they do not lose their accommodation, they have a chance to carry on getting back to being able to live an independent life.
They do not have to start again which for many every time you do it, life is harder and harder. It makes the work of those trying to bring help all the harder.
For the services: it reduces stress both for their clients but also for the staff. It means that hard work is not wasted. When someone is housed, they have far more opportunity to receive help, get clean from addictions and get into long term accommodation and eventually employment.
Please consider supporting this initiative.
We would love to see restorative practice being used with new communities and organisations in Oxford and beyond so that many people can experience the benefits of a restorative approach to relationships and conflict.
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