Craig Smith on Homewards Coalition Trust and Forward Trust's work
Although the housing landscape has changed and brought new and increasing pressures and challenges, the single most powerful learning over the past 21+ years has been that when likeminded passionate and values-based people come together to look at a problem and involve and include people with lived experience great things can happen.
I joined Forward Trust in late 2022 and was attracted by the Forward vision as it really resonated with me and everything I have strived to offer in my services – 'Our vision is that anyone – whatever their history or circumstances – gets the opportunity and support to live a positive life that fulfils their potential, and to inspire others to follow the same path.'
This vision has underpinned everything we do and through developing positive effective working partnerships with HMPPS prison and probation colleagues, local authority homelessness teams, social housing and private rental sector landlords and a wide range of support services we have been able to have a real impact on the lives of people engaging with our service reducing the risk of homelessness and improve housing options available to men on probation and men returning to their communities after a prison sentence.
A few months ago our Camau team (Camau accommodation probation service - Forward Trust) came together to develop a local vision for our service which we hope will inspire others to create new and creative housing pathways for 'Our Vision - Everybody deserves a place to call home.'
We work with men on probation who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness to progress through their housing journey and take steps towards stable accommodation. In doing this we will connect them to skills, options and services that will empower them to have ownership of their housing journey. Our service supports, informs and empowers our neighbours in custody and the community, on every step of their journey to regain or retain housing and reach their full potential.
I recently had the great pleasure of representing Forward Trust at the recent Homewards: Delivering Change Together event in Sheffield to celebrate the second anniversary of the Homewards programme, and met some truly inspirational colleagues from across the UK and a clear message hit home throughout the day 'Together we can end homelessness'.
The work of the Homewards delivery partners across the six locations is having an immediate and lasting impact on the communities in which they are being delivered. It's a privilege to be involved in creating a supportive, collaborative partnership of delivery partners with a shared vision of making homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated and I look forward working with colleagues to create new solutions together.
Craig Smith is the senior operations manager (Wales) - Commissioned Rehabilitative Services at The Forwards Trust, a Homewards Newport Coalition member.
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South Wales Argus
19-07-2025
- South Wales Argus
Craig Smith on Homewards Coalition Trust and Forward Trust's work
Since those early days as a tenancy support worker, I have had the pleasure of having worked in and led services supporting some of the most vulnerable and excluded people across Wales. Although the housing landscape has changed and brought new and increasing pressures and challenges, the single most powerful learning over the past 21+ years has been that when likeminded passionate and values-based people come together to look at a problem and involve and include people with lived experience great things can happen. I joined Forward Trust in late 2022 and was attracted by the Forward vision as it really resonated with me and everything I have strived to offer in my services – 'Our vision is that anyone – whatever their history or circumstances – gets the opportunity and support to live a positive life that fulfils their potential, and to inspire others to follow the same path.' This vision has underpinned everything we do and through developing positive effective working partnerships with HMPPS prison and probation colleagues, local authority homelessness teams, social housing and private rental sector landlords and a wide range of support services we have been able to have a real impact on the lives of people engaging with our service reducing the risk of homelessness and improve housing options available to men on probation and men returning to their communities after a prison sentence. A few months ago our Camau team (Camau accommodation probation service - Forward Trust) came together to develop a local vision for our service which we hope will inspire others to create new and creative housing pathways for 'Our Vision - Everybody deserves a place to call home.' We work with men on probation who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness to progress through their housing journey and take steps towards stable accommodation. In doing this we will connect them to skills, options and services that will empower them to have ownership of their housing journey. Our service supports, informs and empowers our neighbours in custody and the community, on every step of their journey to regain or retain housing and reach their full potential. I recently had the great pleasure of representing Forward Trust at the recent Homewards: Delivering Change Together event in Sheffield to celebrate the second anniversary of the Homewards programme, and met some truly inspirational colleagues from across the UK and a clear message hit home throughout the day 'Together we can end homelessness'. The work of the Homewards delivery partners across the six locations is having an immediate and lasting impact on the communities in which they are being delivered. It's a privilege to be involved in creating a supportive, collaborative partnership of delivery partners with a shared vision of making homelessness rare, brief and unrepeated and I look forward working with colleagues to create new solutions together. Craig Smith is the senior operations manager (Wales) - Commissioned Rehabilitative Services at The Forwards Trust, a Homewards Newport Coalition member.
Daily Mail
07-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Couple locked in bitter feud with builder neighbour claim they have spent over £200k fixing home renovation gone wrong
It was supposed to be a simple extension that would turn a small 1930s bungalow into one couple's dream home. But for Samantha Wright, 46, and her partner Craig Smith, 54, their routine build turned into a toxic two-year-long nightmare that has left them facing a £200,000 bill due to the alleged fault of their own neighbour. The couple from Grimsby, Lincolnshire, say contractor Cristian Wooller, who has strongly denied the allegations, abandoned the job before it was finished. They claim not only was their house left as a building site, they have had to tear up the work that was done and start again. Therefore despite saying they paid their nextdoor neighboor £90,000 for the work, they have had to fork out another £140,000 to have it all redone brick by brick. Mr Wooller has disputed Samantha and Craig's version of events, saying the fee was not paid in full and he was pushed off the job. He also says all the work he did was cleared by building inspectors. Now, nearly two years after they started the work, the couple are yet to move into their new home and are filled with trepidation for when they do as the builder they blame for their problems is still living next door. Samantha, who has called for greater regulation of the building industry, said: 'The mental impact of it has been absolutely terrible. 'I struggle to concentrate and have a lack of trust. There's been times when I have been at the property and I've been properly shaking. 'I've said to my work colleague that you need to come with me just to collect post from the property.' Samantha explained that the issues began when they bought an old bungalow in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, after saving up for five years. They planned to put in a first-floor extension and transform the property into their 'dream home' in September 2023. Samantha said they also wanted to increase the ground-floor footprint by around five metres and update the roof. The 46-year-old told MailOnline: 'We spoke to a number of local builders, they gave us rough ideas of the price. 'Our actual neighbour was also a builder and we had been friends with him for nearly two years. 'He told us about what he'd done in the past. He initially said that he wasn't prepared to take on just doing an extension for somebody. Then he changed his mind.' However, Samantha said the problems with Mr Wooller first arose when it came to agreeing the price of the extension. 'It was supposed to be £85,000. Then the cost went from £85,000 to £89,000,' she said. 'Then there were issues found with the building allegedly and the cost went to £106,000. Then he tried to put it up to over £130,000. 'We had saved money and he knew that because he had lived next to us for a couple of years. 'We said look, we can't afford to keep this bill to keep increasing. We've agreed £106,000 in writing. That's that. 'Then the job went back on track but within two weeks it was the same situation - where he tried to increase the price again. 'This time it worked out to be something like £148,000. We said, no, this is what happened. You agreed £106,000.' It was at this point Samantha claimed their nextdoor neighbour walked away from the job, although he disputes this, leaving them in 'absolute shock'. She said: 'We'd spent £90,000 of the money that we'd saved up. We only had a bit left to try to finish the property. 'We then went down the route of trying to find new builders and had meetings with building control. 'In the end, the issues with the property were so bad it had to be taken down a bit at a time and then rebuilt. 'It was just so unsafe. Everything was wrong with it. 'The insulation was put in wrong so the house didn't have a roof, windows or doors, but did have rising damp already.' She added: 'Because he'd been our neighbour stupidly, we thought, you know, he's not going to do a bad job. He lives literally next door to us. 'Then things started to go wrong, and we double checked everything. 'He comes from the Leeds area and had been taken to court by another person I got in touch with. 'They won their case and then he bankrupted himself and was banned from being a company director. 'But that doesn't stop you from being a sole trader. 'There isn't any regulation in place. There's nothing that stops this guy from being a builder in this country at all. 'The government needs to do something. I used to be a bank manager years ago. If I had complaints against me I would be struck off. 'My sister works for a care home, and if she got complaints against her, she would be struck off.' Samantha said that she did consider taking the builder to court but there was no guarantee they would get their money back even if they did win. 'In the meantime, he actually tried to take me to court. After we only paid the £90,000 we took legal advice on whether we should pay the rest,' she explained. 'The advice was absolutely not, so we didn't pay it. 'He then tried to take me personally to small claims court on the grounds that we hadn't done that. 'So that cost me in excess of £5,000 to defend the claim.' Speaking about why she and Craig still want to move back into the bungalow, Samantha said: 'A question that gets asked a lot is surely you wouldn't want to move back in next to him. 'Me and my partner will always say, but we haven't done anything wrong. 'It's our dream house so that is the stance we are taking.' Mr Wooller has strongly denied all the allegations against him. He told MailOnline: 'The amount paid to us was £53,000 for labour and materials over the period we worked on the house. 'As requested, Sam was provided a full breakdown of everything and she was extremely involved throughout the 12 week period. 'This was a no-profit "mates rates" job, as her neighbours and friends, all materials were paid at cost and receipts forwarded to Sam so we all knew the costings. 'Problems arose as it became clear her original house was in an almost derelict state and this caused a lot of extra work, hence the original estimate given at the start changed by approximately £30,000. 'Ultimately they said they had run out of funds. 'Sam then became very difficult to communicate with and then threw us off the job. In front of witnesses she said if ever we went back on her property she would have us "done for trespassing". 'This had all come out of the blue and I did not even have my tools. The building then stood untouched for a year. 'Because of its unfinished state and the fact they declined advice to strengthen foundations and a harsh winter, with seven storms and gale force winds, the house it seems took some damage. 'I must also express that every stage of the build while we were on it was passed by the Building Inspectors. 'It's very hard to finish a job when you've been thrown off, threatened with trespass, not paid and ,ignored when you try to communicate and offer a way out which I did multiple times to no avail. 'Sam knows she is welcome to put any questions she has to us directly but she refuses to communicate. 'We did start proceedings through the small claims court for the final invoice including expenses such as machine hire totalling nearly £4,000 however due to costs we found it too emotionally draining and ineffective financially. 'The system seems unfair to builders who have been badly treated by customers. Our solicitor received a list of points they were claiming were wrong, and I answered every single one. 'These are still available for her should she wish to have them. We gave up on going to court and a drop hands offer was sent however yet again there was no response from Sam or her solicitor.'
The Independent
02-06-2025
- The Independent
‘Something … set him off': Mass stabbing at Orgon homeless shelter leaves 11 people injured
A mass stabbing at an Oregon homeless shelter sent 11 people to the hospital as officials said something set the suspect off before the attack. Police were called to the Union Gospel Mission in Salem, about an hour south of Portland, just after 7 p.m. Sunday following reports of a stabbing, police said. Victims suffered 'varying types of injuries' in the attack, and their conditions were unknown Monday morning, Angela Hendrick of the Salem Police Department said in a statement. Craig Smith, the executive director of the shelter, told NBC News the suspected attacker had just arrived at the facility the day before and was going to check in for a second night when he got into a fight. 'Something…set him off, and he evidently had a knife in his bag,' Smith said. The altercation happened just as the man was about to turn over his belongings and check in. At least one staff member working at the check-in desk was injured, Smith said. Bobby Epperly was on the second floor of the shelter when he said he saw the man screaming outside at traffic and holding a knife, the Salem Statesman Journal reported. 'It's like a horror movie,' said Epperly, 48. He said he didn't realize some people had already been stabbed inside the building until he went downstairs and saw 'blood everywhere.' Another witness, Malik Law, said he saw the man stab at least seven people. 'Everybody was basically trying to move out of his way,' Law said. 'He started attacking them.' Police have arrested the suspect but have not named the man. The shelter, a faith-based organization, houses upwards of 150 homeless men and provides support services, food, clothing, case management and counseling.
