Christmas 2022 Newsletter

Best Wishes to all Our Supporters

As we take a look back on an eventful 2022 and anticipate everything in store in 2022

It’s that time of year again when we get an opportunity to reflect on a year gone by and to look forward to the opportunities that a new year brings. From everyone at Street Soccer Academy we extend our best wishes to  those who take an interest in our organisation and hope that 2023 is a prosperous and fulfilling year for all.

In 2022 it was a pleasure to return to something like ‘normal service’, albeit the Coronavirus pandemic and all that came with it seemed to have caused some changes meaning that things would never be the same again. For us at Street Soccer Academy, as we returned to full service, we quickly learned of a significant shift in the our service user demographic. Significantly, we identified a fundamental change in the makeup of those who identify as homeless, resulting in increased challenges in terms of engagement. In addition, a growing trend of adult males, not connected with traditional welfare services, became more evident through our research. As many of you know in 2022 we launched our Boot Room programme to directly  combat the above issues, specifically the issue of isolation, a problem we had all individually had a taste of during the periods our nation was under lockdown restrictions.

We are able to report that during 2022 we have received a encouraging number of ‘self-referrals’ onto our Boot Room Programme, with the vast majority of service users having multiple needs related to unemployment and physical/mental health. Our early findings from our needs appraisals confirm that many who have connected through this programme suffer from feelings ranging from boredom through to more serious issues related to loneliness, isolation and in some cases, an overall feeling of being on the outside of community as a whole.

On a recent visit to the SSA East Lancashire Regional Centre it was encouraging to hear from James (name changed), who had signed up on the Boot Room Programme and commented,

“I heard about Street Soccer Academy a few years ago, but could not get referred in as I was not connected with any agencies in the area to make the referral. Recently my friend Ben (name changed) told me about the Boot Room Programme, he’s been coming to the sessions for a while and loves it, so I was really happy to come on down”

In a needs assessment carried out on James’ behalf it was identified that support was required in respect to long-term unemployment, which had lead to poor physical and mental health. James admitted that he had lost any kind of motivation to sort these issues by himself, not really having any kind of understanding of what help was available to him in his local community and was not confident that he could make any significant changes to his lifestyle.

Our aim for James is to see through engagement at our regional centres, confidence restored. For him, and many others like him, we want to see potential fulfilled through the help and support that is available to us all through vital connections in our communities. Many thanks to all our supporters who donated to the specific Boot Room funding appeals we ran in the previous year. Your support is already showing evidence of positive impact in our efforts to combat isolation and loneliness and tackle the issue of men’s health and wellbeing.

Please see below some of the things we are looking forward to in 2023. Again, many thanks for your continued interest and support of our work. If you require any further information about our work or our plans for the coming year our contact details are shown overleaf. We would love to hear from you.

From Everyone at Street Soccer Academy.

Andrew, Simon & Zoe (SSA Senior Management Team),
Tony, Andy, Steve, John, Chris & Dave (SSA Staff)

Staff Updates ….…

Welcome

In 2022 we welcomed four new members of staff. John Squires joins us as North West Operations Manager, Steve Monk joins our Custody Team as a Coach Educator, Dave Taylorson & Chris Nield as Regional Centre Coaches.

Fond Farewell

It is with a hint of sadness that in 2022 we said farewell to two long-term staff members. Anthony Smith served in our Community programme for over a decade and Andy Nelson for five years in our Custody Programme. Both Anthony and Andy leave us with our deepest gratitude for their commitment to our cause and for everything they invested in our organisation.

Coming Up in 2023….…

SSA HQ

In January 2023, after a number of years working from home or in  temporary office accommodation we will finally move into our permanent home at Calvin Street in Bolton. After an extended period of truly being a ‘homeless’ charity our new HQ close to the centre of Bolton will provide the stability for growth as we implement some new and exciting initiatives in 2023. Full details will be published around the middle of January.

Soccer 24

After an extended break whilst it has not been possible to host our Premier Fundraiser, we are looking to host a Soccer 24 event in 2023. Details regarding dates and venue will be released around the end of March and we would love for you and your team to join us, so please keep an eye on our social media and communication channels.           .

For those unfamiliar with this popular event, Soccer 24 is a 24-hour fundraising event where a Street Soccer Academy Rep Team plays 24 consecutive one-hour matches against 24 opposing teams in the ‘Ultimate Test of Endurance’. All players on the Rep Team as well as the players on opposing teams are asked to raise sponsorship from friends, family, colleagues and business contacts.

Whether your interest is playing on the Rep Team, bringing along an opposing team or coming along to support those taking part we look forward to you joining us some time in 2023 to help us raise essential funds for our ongoing work.

Programme Extensions

Custody:- For over a decade Street Soccer Academy has delivered a Coach Education & Personal Development Programme in HMP Forest Bank, based on our StreetSoccer Programme. In January 2023 this programme will be extended  to run a concurrent course based on our StreetFit Programme. The new venture is in support of a new initiative within the prison, based around a purpose-built fitness and education suite and will be facilitated on our behalf by an additional full-time Coach Educator. As with the StreetSoccer programme the StreetFit variant will teach learners work-related skills that will assist with future work and training opportunities, whilst the personal development modules will develop essential social skills. Our new member of staff will work alongside our current Coach Educator, Tony Holmes, delivering the StreetFit programme, preparing inmates for release and assisting in their resettlement in community.

Community:- With respect to our work in community we will, in early 2023, undertake two pilot projects in partnership with the Probation Service. These schemes will utilise our Coach Education & Personal Development Programme to support those under the supervison of the Probation Service. The aim in running the pilot projects is to explore the effectiveness of our programmes in resettlement of individuals currently engaged with the Probation service, with a view a more permanent arrangement, dependent on results

Stay in Touch

Email: info@streetsocceracademy.co.uk

Telephone: 07391 560 271  

Website: www.streetsocceracademy.co.uk