Hope Into Action Mid-Sussex

Unlike our usual Friday morning zoom calls together, today was full of in person HIA community, where some of the team from Mid Sussex, Eastbourne, Canterbury, Portsmouth, and Southampton met together for lunch, prayer, communion and friendship.

When you're part of the Hope Into Action network, you are never alone, as there is always someone willing to share their encouragement, wisdom and support. We are so grateful for our "local" franchises, and the wider network for being so much more than colleagues.

On 7th March, a minibus full of HIA Mid-Sussex staff, church team and tenants got up at the crack of dawn to attend the annual Hope Into Action conference in Peterborough.

The theme this year was 'Empowerment' which is at the heart of Hope Into Action's values. Giving people the support, honesty, love and confidence to do things in their own strength, not us doing it for them.

We'd love to share the seminars from this year with you so you can glean from them too. They can be found here:
https://open.spotify.com/show/2d89qYLenXheBtdxO9lr6h?si=8e294db938654d83

We hope you are as blessed by these as we were.

This week we welcomed in our 38th tenant to one of our HIA Mid-Sussex houses!

On arrival to the property, the partner church team had already posted through the door a handmade welcome card, within 24 hours of moving in, our tenant met one of the befriending team, and next Monday is due to meet more church team at an international coffee morning!

It is such a privilege to offer a safe and secure space for our tenants. Please join us in praying for her as she settles in and finds her feet!

We want to say a huge thank you to all our generous donors from our Big Christmas Give fundraiser!

This Christmas we were able to bless all of our tenants in ways which would not have been possible without your kindness and generosity.

From the money raised, we were able to provide our tenants with so many bespoke gifts, ranging from a National Trust pass to access affordable family days out, a block of driving lessons, counselling sessions, clothing for new jobs, help with personal expenses, a TV licence for move on accommodation, contribution towards a new laptop for university, new cookware, travel to visit far away family, and more!

If you'd like to learn more about what we do, or become a regular giver, you can find out more here: https://midsussex.hopeintoaction.org.uk/

Just over a week in, and only 7 days from the closing date to our Big Christmas Give and we are so grateful for the generosity so far!

We are also less than £1000 away from our target! Can you help us by sharing the fundraising page and reaching our goal?

https://www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/hiamsthebigchristmasgive?fbclid=IwAR1ETAHEYBkflUjB05DaCTmPWaZsZZKbVmFsyiBrmfRop0MsByKulrZcqgQ

Hope into Action: Mid Sussex’s page This Christmas we would love to play a part in blessing all our 15 Hope Into Action Mid-Sussex tenants in a BIG way! All 15 have experienced homelessness in it

******** THE BIG CHRISTMAS GIVE*******

This Christmas we would love you to play a part in blessing all our 15 Hope Into Action Mid-Sussex tenants in a BIG way!

All 15 have experienced homelessness in its various forms, and are striving to better their lives with the support of Hope Into Action & the supporting partner churches.

We are so proud of them, and would love your help to raise £3000 so we can tailor the gifts they receive around their hopes for their futures, their wellbeing and health.

If we reach our target, we could be able to gift our tenants the following:

-Driving lessons to access self-employed work

- Flights 'home' to visit family for the first time in 20 years

-New clothes for work to increase self-worth & confidence

-Therapy sessions for past trauma

-Items to help furnish move on accommodation

-Presents for all to open Christmas morning
..... and more!



We recognise that individually it’s hard to feel like we are making a big difference, but together we really can! We hope you can help us this Christmas! And while you're there, please share this post too!

Click below to donate:

https://www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/hiamsthebigchristmasgive

Hope Into Action Mid-Sussex is part of a nationwide family. Every year, we publish our Annual Tenant Outcomes so all can see what a difference we are able to make in the lives of our tenants locally, and beyond.
Here is the latest video which lets the "stats" speak for themselves!

For more information on what we do, how to get involved, or how to donate, please visit https://midsussex.hopeintoaction.org.uk/

Hope into Action Annual Tenant Outcomes 2023

......... and he's done it! Yesterday Nigel completed his incredible cycle from Canterbury all the way to Rome. Cycling 1157 miles in just 13 days.

As a team here, we have really enjoyed reading the blog along the way. He has so beautifully shared his reflections on starting Hope Into Action Mid-Sussex and the ongoing battles of our tenants. If you've not already done so, have a read! https://ridetorome.blog/

Although not specifically "fundraising", he has set up a page for anyone inspired by his incredible effort wishing to donate.

https://www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/ride_to_rome

Well done Nigel! You really do inspire us all to keep being fuelled by God...... and ice cream.

Our Nigel is on day 5 of his incredible 1200 mile cycle from Canterbury to Rome!

If you'd like to read and follow his progress, his musings, and reflections, it can be found here: https://ridetorome.blog/

This adventure and amazing feat has so many parallels to the effort and endurance Nigel has modelled to us when opening and supporting the Hope Into Action Mid-Sussex franchise and tenants.

Well done Nigel, keep going!

(no title) Brilliant ride today. The route began alongside a canal heading out of Reims. I made an early start, partly because my Airbnb was slightly dodgy and my bike was left in a communal area, and the owner helpfully told me things had been stolen. Every sound during the night convinced me I’d wake up to...

New House Alert!!

Such a great day, to open a new house - incredibly our 5th - and welcome a wonderful family into it.

There is always a limited amount that can be publicly said about our tenants, but this story is one of utterly extraordinary, supernatural timing. Providing a beautiful home, in just the right location, at just the right time, which has blown away the family, the owners, the church, and the wider HIA network.

We have now had the absolute joy of housing 37 tenants. 37!!

Thanks for your support.

Cycle. From Canterbury. To Rome. In 12 days.....

On 1st September I will be heading off on a 2 week sabbatical pilgrimage from Canterbury to Rome. I will be taking some time to reflect on 'journeys'.

The actual journey of riding 1200 miles through France, Switzerland, over the Alps, down through Italy and into Rome.
The journey of Hope into Action over the last 6 years.
And the journeys of the 37 tenants that we have had the absolute privilege of walking alongside.

Everything I need, I need to carry. I'll be blogging along the way, hopefully updating each evening if energy levels allow: https://ridetorome.blog/

And I'll be fundraising too, in order for the HIA journey to continue. https://www.stewardship.org.uk/pages/Ride_to_Rome

Thanks for your support!

We are delighted to share with you all that at last week's Hope Into Action conference, our Hope Into Action Mid-Sussex tenant Raj won an award and recognition for his abstaining from offending behaviour!

Raj tells some of his story in the video below, of how he is transforming his life, working hard with the Hope Into Action support provided, and using the support of the partner church. He is surrounded by people cheering him on and walking alongside him in his new life and we are SO proud of him!

Well done Raj!

Raj's Story (Crawley)-HD 1080p v2 This is "Raj's Story (Crawley)-HD 1080p v2" by Rose Tinted Media on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

Jackie who attends one of her partner churches has chosen to run The Brighton Marathon 2023 and raise money for Hope Into Action Mid-Sussex!

Running 26.2 miles takes a huge effort and real grit, so we are very grateful she is using this feat to raise awareness for what we do, and raise money so we can continue to bless and love our brilliant tenants in practical ways to keep making a difference in their lives.

If you would like to donate and support her, here is the link!

Jackie's page Help Jackie Osborne raise money to support Hope into Action: Mid Sussex

We partner with 3 wonderful churches, all living out their hearts for our brilliant tenants and providing support, prayer and friendship.

Here is a short piece written by one of our Empowerment Workers Laura G to her home church, thanking them for their generosity and faithfulness during 2022. We hope it gives you a feel of what goes on behind the scenes for our partner churches, and just how integral they really are to enable us to work the way we do.

We want to thank ALL our churches for their incredible commitment and love!

A BIG Thank You From Hope Into Action Hello church family! What better way to start the New Year than to share some encouragement from 2022, and to thank The King's Church Mid-Sussex for their part in enriching the lives of our Hope Into Action tenants! This year we have housed ten people in our King's Church Partner homes – with thre...

Hope Into Action founder Ed Walker was invited to speak on World Homeless Day on God TV.

For those that missed it, here is the link:

https://www.god.tv/video/gp_standtog22_s1_193_clean-mp4/zype

We hear many people say, "There aren't many homeless people in Mid-Sussex, I don't see many?" Here are some of the places our tenants were sleeping before moving into our homes:

-Bus shelter
-Local park
-Staff room at work
-Sofa at friend's
-Hotel (rapidly going into debt doing this)
-Air BnB after unexpected eviction
-Prison/probation
-Emergency hostel accommodation
-A car

Just because you don't see them, doesn't mean they are not there. Why not have a watch of Ed's talk, and if you feel challenged by it to do more, there are many ways to show your support!

GOD TV Standing Together - Ed Walker Founder of Hope Into Action, Ed Walker’s life was completely transformed while working with the refugee population in Darfur. Keen to turn these experiences into a plan that would transform lives here in the UK, Ed has pioneered a unique housing solution that works with local churches to house and...

We are celebrating our 5th Anniversary!

5 years ago we welcomed our first tenants into our first house, what an adventure it has been. Since then we have had the absolute joy of housing & supporting 27 vulnerable men, women and children, with wonderful outcomes - 27!!

Thanks to Christ Church Haywards Heath, St John's Crawley & The King's Church Mid-Sussex for partnering with us and loving our tenants in the most practical & beautiful ways.

If you would like to support us in the next chapter of our adventure, please click on the link below. Thank you!
https://www.stewardship.org.uk/partners/20207495