In 1986 two people died sleeping rough on Richmond’s riverbank. Members of the local community, including Penny Wade, wanted to ensure that this would never happen again and a temporary night shelter was opened.

In 1989 the night shelter moved to more permanent accommodation within Richmond on Kew Road. Penny Wade House, as it is now known, has been in operation ever since.  In 2009 the building was completely refurbished, and is now able to provide 14 people at a time with the chance to make a fresh start away from the streets.

Two years' later, in 2011, SPEAR merged with another well respected charity, working with young people. The service offers accommodation to 9 young people at a time between the ages of 16-21, all of whom work with a keyworker to address particular support needs. Alongside this project, SPEAR also run a 3 bedroom accommodation project for young men between the ages of 16-19 who have been referred for a variety of reasons. Both these projects, aimed at homeless young people, offer a genuine chance for them to turn their lives around.

SPEAR has added to the services it offers over the years, including an Outreach Team working with people while they are sleeping rough and enabling them to move away from the street, and a Homeless Healthlink Service to support physical and mental health needs in five boroughs and also a Resettlement team providing tenancy support in Richmond and Merton enabling people to live in their own property who have been, or are, at risk of becoming homeless. They offer support with living skills and to better manage tenancies.

Our Skills and Development team offers training and educational opportunities for our clients, helping them get back into employment.  This involves a new Peer Mentoring service encouraging client involvement.

SPEAR depends on successful relationships within the wider community. We work well with our local authorities, and strengthened relationships with local partner agencies, churches, schools and individuals who may wish to support our work.

We are proud that SPEAR has been supporting homeless and vulnerable people for more than 28 years and we are very proud of the achievements and genuine change our clients have made in their lives.

To find out more about our work please visit our webpage @

http://www.spearlondon.org/

https://twitter.com/SPEARLondon

https://www.facebook.com/SPEARLondon