Some of our celebrity friends have a favour to ask...

Welcome to Challenging, a podcast by Shelter reflecting on the ambitious and life-changing service run with Birmingham Changing Futures Together, that helped people with multiple and complex needs out of homelessness.

For four years we ran a unique and life-changing project called the Lead Worker Peer Mentor Service, in partnership between Birmingham Voluntary Service Council, SIFA Fireside and Birmingham Mind.

This was part of a programme called Birmingham Changing Futures Together, one of twelve projects funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, to create better support for people with multiple and complex needs.

The idea was simple and two-fold:

One: support people with a mix of complex needs, every step of the way. From doctors' appointments to court hearings, to just having a regular coffee.

Two: hire people who’ve experienced a combination of issues such as homelessness, substance misuse, mental health needs, and offending - and have them support people going through the same things. If you’ve been there, you know the way out.

We hope by end of the series, you’ll appreciate that programmes like this are important and life-changing. We also hope you’ll feel galvanised to help us keep doing this work, because it’s vital.

Read the full social cost-benefit analysis of the Lead Worker Peer Mentor service http://shltr.org.uk/ifj