Hi, I’m Nick, the Manager at Windsor Homeless Project. I'm sleeping out on Friday, October 6th to make sure people can sleep in. Please sponsor me and/or share the cause 🙏

I’ll share a small part of why I'm doing this and how important it is that WHP keeps its doors open....

My story

In 2016, after many years of addiction and abusing myself, I realised that if I didn’t get help, I would be stuck in a zombie state or dead. I managed to muster the strength and sanity to speak with my family and admit my vulnerability, but they were already all too aware of my troubles and thankful I'd come to realise how messed up I was. As a result, I soon went into rehabilitation.

That led to four eye opening months in treatment which saved my life and allowed me to feel like a new man or the old Nick.

After returning home I struggled to think about my future. Construction and engineering were my attributes but in the past they also led to a lifestyle that nearly destroyed me. So, after a chat with my dad about life, he suggested volunteering. This sparked an interest, and I went online to see if anyone needed help.

It turns out lots of people need help. But at the top of a local search list, Windsor Baptist Church (WBC) and the amazing Tree House café appeared

After a quick call to their manager, Kate Saunders (love you!), I was invited down for a chat that went on for quite a while. After I explained my story and how I came to be here, Kate invited me to see what happened at the back of WBC. And there was Windsor Homeless Project (WHP) running in the back room. That's when my life changed.

It was incredible to see how a few people could do incredible things for the most vulnerable in our community. Given the struggles that I'd been through, I thought it was right to try and give something back and use the knowledge that I have of turning around my own messed up life to help others going through similar challenges. I volunteered five days a week with the church and the homeless project. I cleaned, washed up, cooked and maintained the building. After 12 months of putting my all into volunteering, the homeless project and the Baptist Church took me on as an employee. That’s when my experience in life and managing people came into play. I learn in a hands-on way and got stuck into observing how my team and other services worked with our guests. I knew I had the skills, understanding and compassion to do more. Fortunately, in 2018, WCA (the Charity that WHP is part of) offered me the opportunity to manage the Windsor Homeless Project. This led to the most important journey of my life to date.

My time at WHP

I knew (or thought) what to do and immediately made changes that ensured WHP offered a service that enabled our guests to rebuild their lives.

Since 2018, we have supported over 50 guests into long-term/permanent accommodation. Alongside re-housing, we manage guests’ tenancies, debts, benefits, and healthcare. The list goes on.

We also work closely with local job centres and local businesses to provide employment opportunities. It’s hard to remember how much we do, tbh!

Windsor Homeless Project has been the most consistent homeless front-line charity in Windsor and Maidenhead for over 12 years. 100s of vulnerable people come through our doors every year, and the positive transformation of some of our guests is unbelievable, and it takes my breath away. To understand exactly what we've been able to do for people who have been completely on their knees to now walking tall, with a key to their own place and proud to be alive is something that has enabled me to continue in my recovery, and make me believe that I want to do this job.

Even through COVID, we worked tirelessly to make sure that people who anyone homeless and rough sleeping were housed through the help of our local council, making sure food, counselling, advocacy, and digital support were available. This led to WHP winning the prestigious High Sherrif’s award, a royal honour which gave me and my team a huge boost to continue what we do well daily.

WHP's work is well documented on our website, www.windsorhomelessproject.org and WHP's Facebook page. Please have a look and follow our journey 😊

We urgently need funds now.

We do not receive regular government and must raise funds to continue this vital work with the most vulnerable in our community. We rely on a fantastic team of volunteers to stay open. The Sleep Out is such an opportunity event as we rely on funds raised through this to remain open.

Thank you for reading this, and thanks in advance for your donations and help in spreading the word about our cause and this vital fundraising event on October 6th.

Nick Roberts - Proud Manager of WHP