Green Pastures Housing, Shoreline Church, Southport 

The Houses that God built - housing the homeless one door at a time.

Written by Vicki Woodley, Shoreline Church, March 2009

When homeless people came to our church building we used to do all we could to help - food, hot drink and somewhere to lay their head. Then the laws of Health and Safety, Child Protection etc meant we couldn’t offer this service any more. What could we do? What would Jesus do? Then an invitation came to us to buy a property consisting of two flats in a block. What do we do? We took hold of the Lord’s hand and just leapt into the future.

We put our own funds into the pot and purchased the property offered to us for cash. We had tenants waiting - a couple with a child living in a family garage. As soon as we completed the sale we were on our way.

All we had was a heart for people and some expertise in letting and in finance, plus faith in a God through whom we can do all things.

Our resources were from our personal pocket. The only talents we had were a sense of excitement at finding property at a price which would enable us to house more people and the administrative skills to keep track of the documentation necessary for the property purchase and the organising of tenancies. There was always a desire to support tenants with our own labour and love. We shifted furniture, decorated, renovated and built.  As we worked we found that the tenants often wanted to help and members of our church also worked with us.

Now, our original two flats have grown to 191 units of accommodation (separate flats, houses and bedsits) in 95 properties in 12 areas of the UK. We are now housing 260 individuals in their own homes, plus all those who have come and gone in the last 10 years.

The challenges

The first challenge was the minefield surrounding Housing Benefit and Benefits in general. We have had to develop a tight application process backed by many documents and procedures which monitors each new application on a week to week basis and also perform monthly checks to pick up stoppages and help us ensure debts don’t get out of hand. Even with all this we still have difficulties which have to be addressed on an individual basis because of the needs of individual tenants. In the end they are always more important that the funding.

A second challenge was the difficulty with utilities for tenants and the large debts they seemed to accumulate. We now set up all tenants’ accounts with gas, electric and water provider companies at the commencement of the tenancy and keep records of meter information where possible.

From the beginning of the Green Pastures Ministry we were confronted by the aggressive lifestyle that is part of those who are homeless. The first couple we housed with a small baby had life issues connected to drugs which caused violent arguments which translated into damage to the property – broken doors, windows, gates, holes punched in walls, kitchen units damaged and broken. Some damage is due to a general lack of care and life skills.

We learnt early on that difficult people become homeless because of difficult behaviour. We needed to be patient and try and work with them to take some responsibility. Sometimes it worked, often it didn’t. 

Complex tenants attract rubbish to an unprecedented degree. A large amount of man hours, transport costs and tipping charges caused expenses that we had not even thought of when we began. Thankfully over the years we discovered the charitable tipping allowance and have been able to lower our costs by using some free tip allowance from the Local Authority, which is a great help. This issue has never reduced and appears to go with the territory.

We have learnt that there are some tenants that even we have to give up on. When a tenant treats the property in a way that causes danger to health or to others in a building, causes distress to other tenants and is not able to respond to any appeal to improve, and when staff love and labour have been brought alongside but the situation still doesn’t improve, we have to resort to eviction. This is never easy and really clashes with our prime directive to take without discrimination or favour. We have had to learn to exert tough love in these cases.

The demand and the vision

We are very grateful to the Lord for His provision for us, often when the situation seems impossible. Despite what the financial figures say we have kept our heads above water all of the last 10 years. We have also been able to be self-financing so that we can keep our Christian distinctive – which is of high importance to us.

To be able to pray with our tenants and to be able to challenge and parent them without interference is a wonderful thing. They know we love them. They will grumble and complain at us as they do about most things, especially when under the influence of their particular habit. They do know that we love them and they are important to us.

The demand is endless and we know we cannot meet it all at this moment. One thing we do feel is that God has given a model that can be expanded. He has already brought into our circle many amazing people who are seeing the potential, who are excited by what can be done and we believe God will open doors to this work to meet the demand no matter how big it is. For the Lord who fed 5000 on a mountain with three loaves and two fishes, housing all the homeless of the nation with His Church is surely a wonderful possibility.

Those who have helped along the way…

Many many people have been so encouraging to us in word, deed and financial contribution. Investors have given over their interest to fund our work with the poor; churches, individuals, farmers, stores,  have all given us food, goods and funds to assist our tenants.

Unexpected funds have helped our work keep going, such as a large shareholder gifting his shares to us for our Poor Fund; Tear Fund offering us support for three years and Tudor Trust funding CCTV for our managed site so we have been able to give the police evidence of criminal behaviour towards our tenants and building which has been a great asset.   We've also appreciated the willingness of so many missionary teams visiting our church from the USA and other countries who have laboured in our tenants’ gardens, painted their homes, and shared Christ with them is a joy to behold.

What makes it all worthwhile?

To see a group of tenants on a sponsored walk to raise funds for others even less fortunate than themselves is heart warming.
To be in a Church fellowship that is fully committed to our ministry and makes welcome any tenant coming in.
To know many tenants who have committed their lives to Jesus and are now part of our church family.

Our whole life in this work is only a blessing - every extra hour working late to do the job is only a gift to the God who gives us everything.

Our work has put us in touch with the movers and shakers of this world. God can put his people in positions where He can input his wisdom and love. Paul in the Epistles spoke to those in authority, including Caesar, and likewise He will give us favour when we truly want to change the world we live in so that justice and righteousness can flood our nation.

Top Tips for others?

• Believe More
• Don’t worry
• When you feel it’s impossible - remember it’s God who is the builder.
  
  

Written by Vicki Woodley, Shoreline Church, March 2009
For more information on the church and Green Pastures Housing, please visit www.shorelinechurch.co.uk/ministries-green-pastures.html

The stories of some Green Pastures' tenants...

Ms C – Single mum with 2 children at our point of contact
Moved to UK to work and give her children a chance. Twelve months along the line she was hit with a medical condition which meant she has to give up her work. Her home was linked to her job and she could not keep it. We had links with those leasing it and the flat came into our possession and we worked with her for over 12 months to establish her income from the Government and to access Housing Benefit for her rent. We waited for this income to come in and were thrilled when all the effort produced results and we were back paid to the date of her tenancy.
Her son became an integral part of the church and worked so hard labouring with us in the new church buildings we had taken on. She also and her little girl were part of the congregation/Sunday School and growing in their faith. A third child was still in her home country and we assisted with the legal work in getting her into the UK. The family has now been moved into a three bed-roomed house and are settled and happy. We have worked with them in regard to getting the children into schools including ensuring one of the daughters gets extra input for a speech difficulty. She is improving greatly. The son went on to be head boy of his school and has been marked as a hero for saving the life of an older lady involved in a car crash. A wonderful outcome for the investment in the life of this family.

Mr A and Miss B.  Each with an alcohol problem that had reduced them to homelessness
They came into our care, got to know one another, fell in love and married in the Church. We housed them in a lovely semi and for a few years they were happy. Sadly the hold that the habit had on each one of them caused friction between them and they parted company. He still cared for her and she for him. He so much so he pleaded with us to house her and look after her and was willing to work on a property that came up at the time that had been damaged by a previous tenant. He did that and when sure that she was OK returned for a short time to his roots. He has returned to our town and they are now divorced but each of them knows we are there for them. She has attended a ladies Bible study group for several years now and desperately wants to follow Jesus and overcome her troubles. It is hard work for her but she knows she has a family around her to support her in the ups and the downs. He still calls to chat and during a time of illness requested prayer.
Not all stories are complete happy endings but there is continuity and loyalty to all our tenants because of the love that constrains us in Christ Jesus.