Empowering local communities

Shelter is embedded in the communities we work with.

In our Bournemouth Hub, we have three housing rights workers who provide advice and support on housing and homelessness issues. They deliver casework face to face at the hub, via telephone and in the community.

Our team supports people to

find safe and affordable homes
keep and improve conditions in their current homes
coordinate additional support from other specialist agencies

We also use our expertise to upskill workers at other organisations working in the local community. We work locally to deliver advice and rights awareness workshops to grassroots community groups, helping to build capacity within communities to address their issues in a way that works for them.

West Howe Community Enterprises

West Howe in Bournemouth is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK.

West Howe Community Enterprises is a volunteer-run community group who work with local people to improve their lives and the area, making it a nicer place to live. They are a testament to the area's community spirit.

A woman in a blue shirt with a name badge stands by a banner reading 'West Howe: Housing, Benefits and Cost of Living Drop in Sessions'

Kathy is part of the volunteer team at Community Enterprises. Having lived in the area for 53 years, she now runs a community food security project and a drop-in advice session every Wednesday. Anyone can attend the drop-ins to get support with issues like cost of living concerns, food vouchers, and support with household bills.

Steve, a housing rights worker at Shelter Bournemouth, says:

'When we opened the door at 9.30, there was a queue of people lining up for support, and we just worked our way through each case until the end of the day.

'We did about 13 weeks of drop-in sessions with Community Enterprises, to understand what the housing need was like in the local community.

'Once we understood this, in September 2023, alongside the local authority and Citizens Advice we delivered a day's worth of workshops, with introductory advice for the volunteers around security of tenure, benefits and debt and the council's statutory homeless duties.'

268 housing rights awareness workshops were delivered
1,876 attendees were members of the public
1,578 attendees were from other organisations
552 attendees were from statutory organisations

Speaking about the workshops, Kathy says: 'I learnt a lot about the section 21 'no fault' evictions. I was making so many notes, and I still refer back to the workshop notes today when I'm working with people.'

Steve continues: 'West Howe Community Enterprises then decided they wanted to have a go at doing their own drop-in service, which was absolutely amazing and not an outcome we expected was going to happen when we started working here.

'Every week Kathy delivers the drop-in, and I come as often as I can. I come down to support Kathy if any cases are complex and need to be referred, or need more urgent work.'

Kathy values Steve's support, saying: 'He's always at the end of an email or a phone call. Even though we have contact details for other organisations, they take a bit longer to get back, where Steven is always straight back in touch.'

Communities are at the centre of our work to make lasting changes to the housing system. Ending the housing emergency must happen at every level from the ground up, home by home, street by street, locally and nationally.

This content is from our 2023/24 impact report. It covers our work between April 2023 and March 2024, and all information is accurate as of this period.