Southwark continues to be a borough of social inequality and ever evolving needs. The last 10 years of work has put us in a position to build upon our transformation, reputation and successes, and continue to meet our vision of a fair and equal Southwark over the next 10 years, and beyond.
Since 2015 United St Saviour’s Charity has transformed every aspect of our work. This 10 year journey has included:
Changing from traditional grantmaker into a place-based community investor tackling the causes of social need; We moved from a focus on only the north of the borough to covering the whole of Southwark. We have spent over £10m in grants and become a key part in maintaining the resilience of Southwark’s voluntary and community sector.
We have built a radically new model of sheltered social housing for older people in inner cities with our RIBA Stirling Prize-winning Appleby Blue Almshouse. We have nearly doubled our housing provision, and driven a person-centred support approach to what we do.
We have doubled our endowment and tripled our income and numbers of staff. We attract new sources of funding that enable us to deliver new initiatives like One Southwark. Yet we remain small and agile to respond to emergencies and social crises such as terrorist attacks in Southwark, the pandemic and the cost of living crisis.
Our profile, reputation and voice reaches across all levels in Southwark, and our influence flows far beyond London and the UK.
Our long term strategy is to foster a united Southwark with strong, inclusive and equal communities where everyone can thrive.
A strong, resilient and empowered voluntary and community sector is essential to make our borough inclusive and equal for all. We will continue to be more than just a funding partner within the eco-system of the voluntary and community sector in Southwark. We will implement the results of our recent community investment review in our new community investment strategy starting in 2025. We will also support young people directly through our One Southwark programme.
Older persons in inner cities, particularly those from poorer communities are marginalised, isolated and not part of a united Southwark. By building high quality affordable social homes, with thriving and supportive communities around them, older people can be included. We will be actively building new sites in Southwark over the next 10 years.
Although we have limited ability and capacity to scale our services beyond Southwark, we will share our knowledge and showcase our work with the aim of making an impact on policies and practices at a much wider level. To achieve this we must strengthen our credibility by measuring our impact, gathering evidence and insights, and finding ways of reaching a broader audience beyond our Southwark focus.
Our 2025-2035 strategic objectives are as follows:
- Grow our provision of almshouses in Southwark
Developing new sites through strong partnerships with statutory providers,
developers and funders. Seek opportunities to grow through partnerships,
takeovers and mergers. Embed our leadership role in the local and national
older persons housing policy and services sector. - Continue to improve and embed the person-centred housing approach
Both internally and externally, building evidence of impact, sharing knowledge,
and influencing others of its value to older persons and wider society. - Sustain and develop our community investment programmes to create a resilient community ecosystem in Southwark
We build equity, champion prevention and empower community groups through
our grants programme and issue-based partnerships. Influence policy, practice
and systems for greater impact. Establish greater community input into our
programmes - Develop One Southwark programme to effect system change and establish new models of practice
Secure on-going funding and aim to double service provision. Develop a
strategic network of partners to provide proper career pathways. Develop a
mental health and wellbeing support model for young people, and actively
explore opportunities to pilot a housing support model. - Making USTSC a great place to work
Fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for staff. - Taking greater care of our environment and society, within and beyond Southwark
Establishing a focus on sustainability across all that we do and own, and being
accountable for our actions
A full copy of our 2025-2035 Strategic Plan can be downloaded here: UStSC 2025-2035+ Strategy