{"id":6306,"date":"2020-09-11T15:17:02","date_gmt":"2020-09-11T15:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=6306"},"modified":"2020-09-11T16:59:20","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T16:59:20","slug":"preventing-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2020\/09\/11\/preventing-homelessness\/","title":{"rendered":"Preventing Homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, Professor Robert Van de Noort, recently became a new patron for Reading\u2019s leading homelessness prevention charity, Launchpad. This week, CONNECTED speaks to Reading graduate and founder member, Mark Goldup, about what motivated him to get involved in setting up the charity in 1979.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark came to Reading in 1977 to study Sociology and during his time here, he was elected as an executive member of the Students\u2019 Union as their education and welfare officer, and a member of the student society, the Reading Cyrenians, where \u2013 in his own words \u2013 his passion for \u201cmaking a difference and helping others to do things better\u201d first began.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mark said: \u201cAs education and welfare officer, I was responsible for managing funds that we received to support students. It was at the time of the Islamic Revolution and there were a number of Iranian students at the University who were cut off from all support and weren\u2019t sure if they could return home or what had happened to their families \u2013 so we put some of the welfare funds towards grants for these students and also gave them access to the Student Union\u2019s facilities so they could call home.<\/p>\n

\n

“I felt quite passionately about helping these students \u2013 it was definitely student politics in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Tackling homelessness <\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mark tells CONNECTED that his interest in homelessness was sparked by his involvement in the Cyrenians society. The national organisation provided services to the homeless and other disadvantaged groups in society, and they had several branches that operated locally to help tackle homelessness.<\/p>\n

Mark said: \u201cThe idea of being without a home \u2013 literally without a roof over your head \u2013 was something that I wanted to try and do something about. And so a group of us at Reading came together to form a local branch of the Cyrenians.\u201d<\/p>\n

When they set up the charity in 1979 they ran it using volunteers. He explained:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe used to go out at night between one and three times a week looking for people who were sleeping rough on the streets or in derelict buildings offering them soup, blankets and clothes \u2013 or just simply having a chat with them.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cInitially, we used the University\u2019s Chaplaincy as the base for storing the basics like blankets, thermos flasks and other items that had been donated to us, but quite early on we linked up with St Giles-in-Reading Church. The church had a kitchen so we were able to make soup there \u2013 instead of in our student houses \u2013 and it had much more space for storage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark reflects back on when the Reading Cyrenians was first set up: \u201cAlthough the idea behind it was well-motivated, initially we didn\u2019t actually do anything to tackle homelessness \u2013 we had no training, resources or links to housing and couldn\u2019t provide homeless people with any advice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Relatively quickly those involved in the charity realised it wasn\u2019t just about offering homeless people soup and blankets \u2013 what they needed to do was offer housing to people.<\/p>\n

Mark said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s the answer to homelessness? Provide someone with a home. We got into negotiations with a housing association based in Oxford called Cherwell, who helped us get some government funding to buy our first property. In 1982, we bought 59A Caversham Road which as far as I know Launchpad still own now.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAfter buying the property, we then appointed three community service volunteers to run it who looked after about six residents at any one time. Over time, these volunteers became the driving force behind why we needed to develop the organisation \u2013 we needed full-time staff to run it as a professional charity \u2013 and eventually we got some money to appoint a full-time manager. After that I took a step back and became less involved in the charity, but I remained as a Trustee for a quite a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark explained that over time the charity bought more properties and harnessed links with the local community. Its successor charity, Launchpad<\/a>, now helps vulnerable people in the town tackle their housing-related problems, obtain and sustain a long-term home and lead full and independent lives.<\/p>\n

Making a difference<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mark\u2019s motivation to make a difference and help other people do things better inspired him to work in housing and help tackle homelessness for the rest of his career. He embarked on his career at Oxford Probation Service, first as an ancillary and then as a housing development officer, before moving to one of the largest housing association providers at the time, Stonham, where he stayed for eleven years.<\/p>\n

In 1997, Mark decided to become a consultant and set up his own successful business, HGO Consultancy Ltd<\/a> based in Reading, which he has been running for the past 23 years. He now works with local authorities advising them on their homeless strategy, performance frameworks and budget spending.<\/p>\n

He also still occasionally works for Launchpad and finds it rewarding to still have some involvement in the charity after all these years.<\/p>\n

Mark said: \u201cI think it\u2019s refreshing to work with an organisation that is innovative and is always looking at improving the impact of what they do. It\u2019s really rewarding from that point of view.<\/p>\n

\n

“To be able to see the growth, change and development that the organisation has gone through, and to know that I helped set that up, is an incredible feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A university for Reading<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"With the origins of Launchpad starting out on campus back in 1979, the link between the University and the wider community continues to remain strong. Professor Van de Noort, a longstanding supporter of Launchpad, will join the charity\u2019s roster of patrons \u2013 which includes Matt Allwright, Danyl Johnson, the Earl and Countess of Canarvon and Sir John Madejski \u2013 to increase the charity\u2019s profile and spread positive news of Launchpad\u2019s work to prevent homelessness in Reading.<\/p>\n

Professor Van De Noort said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe University of Reading has played an important role in the formation of Launchpad, and so I\u2019m delighted to continue the close links between our organisations as patron.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe role of universities in civic life is more crucial than ever through our research, our partnership with local communities and businesses, and through the many ways that our staff and students contribute to Reading. My role at Launchpad is just a small part of a greater connection between the University and the town, making the University not just\u00a0of\u00a0<\/em>Reading, but\u00a0for\u00a0<\/em>Reading too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Professor Van de Noort\u2019s first event as patron will be an adaptation of the charity\u2019s much-loved annual fundraising event, the \u2018Big Sleep Out\u2019 \u2013 which is being hosted virtually this year on World Homeless Day. The \u2018Big Sleep Out at home\u2019 will see participants swapping a comfortable bed for a sleeping bag in their garden \u2013 all to help raise \u00a325,000 so that the charity can continue its vital work ensuring vulnerable people don\u2019t lose their homes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kirsti Wilson, Head of Marketing and Fundraising at Launchpad, said: \u201cWe are thrilled to welcome the University\u2019s Vice-Chancellor as a patron.<\/p>\n

\n

“Professor Van de Noort has supported the charity for a number of years with regular donations and by taking part in our fundraising events, and his great passion for the community of Reading and our cause is truly inspirational.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“It will be a real honour to work closely with him to prevent homelessness in Reading \u2013 and we are delighted he has already pledged to brave the outdoors in his garden for the \u2018Big Sleep Out\u2019 in October!\u201d<\/p>\n

Find out more about the \u2018Big Sleep Out<\/a> at home\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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This week, CONNECTED speaks to Reading graduate and founder member, Mark Goldup, about what motivated him to get involved in setting up the charity in 1979.\u00a0 Mark came to Reading in 1977 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":6275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[54,64,34,56,46,47],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPreventing Homelessness - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CONNECTED speaks to Reading graduate and founder member of homelessness charity Launchpad, Mark Goldup, about what motivated him to set up the charity.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2020\/09\/11\/preventing-homelessness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Preventing Homelessness - 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