Keychange was previously the Christian Alliance for Women and Girls. It was originally set up in 1920 to support women who worked in big country houses and needed a place to live after retirement. We now have ten communities that care for over 200 elderly and homeless people, staffed by 220 people.
The heart of all we do is to support and advocate for these vulnerable adults. We create caring Christian communities, and our goal is to serve each person individually, no matter what their circumstances or need.
How we support someone in the latter stages of life is very different to caring for those aged 18-25 at our homeless communities who’ve come from government care or no home. We have a range of systems and processes that help us deliver care that exceeds what’s required by regulators.
Our managers and staff in the communities are incredible. They consistently go beyond what’s expected, which is so impacting to community members. Sometimes it’s difficult to find the right staff. We’re blessed and amazed by the staff that come to work for us.
We’ve added and released different sites in the UK over the years, and the cost of running a charity in this area of need is a real stretch, both operationally and financially.
Some residents have financial support from local authorities, while others pay their own costs. In the housing communities, we have some local-authority financial support. Donations allow us to deliver our care level, which is more than is paid for, and more than is expected.
For younger care-leavers, we seek to prepare them for a healthy and independent life. We co-create plans for each community member; so things aren’t simply done for or to them.
We create spaces to cater for all, and open opportunities so people can draw together as a community. Staff are key to this culture: how they listen to each person. Some people like to be more alone; others want to attend joint activities. Many find times connected in the community spaces really valuable, and often ask for more of them. Our agile response is part of our caring approach.
I’d worked in international development for over 20 years, mainly focusing on communities and children, working in every continent, but particularly in Latin America and Africa. For six years, I worked for the Ezra Centre, a local charity training leaders and pastors in Guatemala; and then I led the global programmes in twelve countries for Kids Alive International in the US as their vice-president.
Guatemala and the US have different social contexts to the UK, but there’s a similar need for organisations to co-create solutions with those they serve, and for there to be coherence and efficiency.
It’ll be interesting to see how these early months develop for our Government, because there’s so much on their urgent to-do list.
I do hope the charity sector is actively engaged by the Government, because we meet some key needs in a unique way — that can be multiplied if a positive relationship is further developed. Part of the amazing thing about the UK is our ability to give our time and resources because we believe in a better reality for all. I believe we’re collectively responsible and able to change things, and we don’t just rely on the Government to solve issues.
Some people ask me, how do you find staff of character and faith? Well, I’m amazed. I’m currently building a team in Keychange, and have an amazing set of managers across the UK. But I also found this in Guatemala and the US. One of my lovely “God-provision stories” was being visited by a stranger who said she had a Ph.D. in trauma care for children and wanted to work for me for free.
I don’t need a hundred people. I just need a few, and God’s continued to provide for those. They can make a difference in lives of children who have been abused, young people, and the elderly. I can’t speak for recruitment on the national level but I can speak for what I’m seeing.
I’ve been actively working at improving our connections with the NHS, and we’d like to collaborate more. Care’s understood to be far more complex now. It’s not just about loneliness. People in the third age may have cancer, disorientation, dementia, be post-operative or have a number of co-morbidities.
On the national level it’s very hard to deal with such a large multifaceted organisation, but we’re making relationships with local commissioners and practitioners. We can free up hospital beds by providing respite care for six to eight weeks, and we’re getting more people because of improved relationships that we’ve instigated. We contact NHS more, and therefore we hear more.
We have to pick ourselves up. If we lived by the narrative of the wider messaging about care deficiencies, we’d all shut up shop. . . Things do go wrong in care, but we will do the best we can, creating an environment where people are welcome and safe, and we encourage independence — that’s our vision.
I grew up in Brighton and Hove with my dad and mum and two brothers. We lived in the same home for over 25 years, and that stable background’s equipped me well for life. Now I’m married to Charmari, living in Surrey, and we have four boys, aged nine to 17.
Our faith’s stretched us to be obedient and follow God. We’ve seen God’s character expressed in different ways through the different cultures.
Faith surrounded me as I grew up. I made the decision for faith to be real to me, and make a difference in life choices, when I was 24 and working in the City. I began to hear from God quite clearly in a number of ways, and then attended an Alpha course at HTB — along with 900 other people.
My faith’s been a complete life-paradigm-altering experience, a stretching journey. It’s led me to make life-choices differently, in terms of jobs, family, location. God seems to have had a way of working with me that requires obedience and quick learning (from my side). There have been some unforgettable moments, and, though it’s not all been easy, I wouldn’t change any of it.
Very early on, when I became a Christian, I found myself in a small team in Latin America for two months, feeling very ill-equipped to be leading. I was told: “We think you should”; so I just had to hold on because they were trusting in my skills to help. Later on I have thought: “I’m not going to be the greatest leader, but I can help other leaders — e.g. Guatemalans — lead well, and help people think about how they can live independently or have access to opportunity. I’m not the answer, but let’s find the answer.”
I think being led outside my comfort zone is a defining character of my life with God. After that first trip overseas, one of the team participants said: “I’m never going on an overseas mission again!” I’d discovered that it was only the beginning.
Inequality and injustice of systems makes me angry. The sense of entitlement of us as the wealthy.
I’m happiest being at rest with friends and family, often in nature. And seeing vulnerable people’s lives changed.
That God continues to be a revelation to us, and changes our lives, is the source of my hope. And that some people choose not to align with the surrounding culture, and will love beyond themselves, or innovate and invent.
I pray for the health of my family, and that I’ll hear God daily. Also that my boys will invest in their relationship with God so he’ll make a difference to their lives, allowing them to love well. And for my staff and the whole of the organisation.
I’d choose to be locked in a church with my dad, who passed away a few years ago. It would be great to spend some hours with him, talking and in silence. He was great at living an integrated life of faith — which, for me, is sometimes the best worship.
Benjamin Downing was talking to Terence Handley MacMath.
keychange.org.uk