Sarah Power, Senior Psychotherapist and Dramatherapist, and Kayleigh Reardon, an Advanced Mental Health Occupational Therapist, are part of the Rough Sleepers Mental Health Team (RSMHT) in Southend, a service run by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.
The pair have been shortlisted for the award for creative and innovative practice in the Advancing Healthcare Awards 2025.
The awards recognise the work of allied health professionals, healthcare scientists and those who work alongside them in support roles, who lead innovative healthcare practice across the UK.
Sarah and Kayleigh work alongside a consultant psychiatrist, consulting and assistant psychologists, senior mental health nurse, peer support worker, and an operational team manager.
The team works with people who are rough sleeping, homeless, sofa surfing, at risk of homelessness or risk of losing their tenancy and who are unable to access mainstream services.
People experiencing homelessness can face barriers such as unemployment, stigma, and limited access to healthcare. This prevents them from participating in essential daily activities and roles that foster independence and dignity.
Kayleigh helps the people she works with to access meaningful and fulfilling activities that contribute to improved health, well-being, and social inclusion.
She works with services to promote stable and appropriate housing, offer mental health support through drop in sessions and provide supportive environments to enable individuals to rebuild their lives.
Sarah is currently facilitating a dramatherapy group with vulnerable women living in supported housing run by charity HARP.
Sarah said: “It’s not just about talking. We use creative methods to explore things they might not have the words for.
“It’s about coming together as a group and having fun, as well as having an opportunity to be expressive, creative and be with real feelings.”
Charlie Brown, Deputy Team Manager of Women’s Specialist Supported Housing at HARP, said: “Every Friday Sarah visits our residents at our women’s only accommodation to facilitate a dramatherapy group.
“This group has been a huge pillar of the accommodation’s support and has provided a safe space for the women to share creatively their struggles with someone they know respects their confidentiality but will also do what she can to keep them safe.
“I have seen the women talking together after the group, in a really positive mood. One thing that it has changed is their openness to then seek further mental health support on a one-to-one basis.”
Sarah has also worked with vulnerable women who are supported by the Aspirations programme to create a wall mural called Tree of Life.
She worked with staff at Aspirations to carry out the project over about three months.
Sarah said: “A lot of time and emotion went into this piece. It felt important for women who have suffered a lifetime of trauma be able to express themselves freely and safely and they created an amazing piece of art they can be proud of and see every time they attend the women’s drop-in centre.”
Marie Edmonds, founder of Aspirations, said: “Aspirations was thrilled to collaborate with Sarah from the Rough Sleepers Mental Health Team, offering art therapy sessions at our women’s service.
“Together with the women, Sarah facilitated the creation of a beautiful and inspiring Tree of Life mural on the wall of our drop-in centre.
“Sarah’s role is vital in empowering the women and fostering a safe, trusting environment. The Tree of Life serves as a symbolic piece that allows the women to freely express themselves, connecting with their inner child through art.
“Many of these women have experienced significant childhood trauma, so Sarah’s ability to guide them to that safe space speaks volumes about her impact. This work has been invaluable, and the women thoroughly enjoyed the sessions.”
The work that Sarah and Kayleigh have been shortlisted for is among a number of creative ways in which the RSMHT work with people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Last summer three staff ran a therapeutic gardening group for young people supported by Southend YMCA. They worked with the residents to transform the garden into a space for flowers, vegetables and socialising.
The gardening activities were a tool to have conversations about problem-solving, future planning, goals, aspirations and personal growth and development.
The RSMHT also attend the One Love soup kitchen every week to offer mental health support to guests accessing the service.
Sarah said: “If we go to the soup kitchen we won’t speak to everyone but there can be as many as 160 people who attend for a hot meal, basic necessities including clothing and food and social inclusion in an evening.
“Not all of them are rough sleepers but it’s a high level of people we are reaching out to who may need our help.”
The RSMHT hold weekly mental health drop-ins for people who attend HARP and St Vincent De Paul.
The team works with individuals and groups in places where they feel safe, such as soup kitchens and homeless charities, and takes services to them in the community.
The RSMHT works closely with many organisations and charities who support rough sleepers and people at risk of homelessness, including HARP, St Vincent De Paul, Storehouse, One Love, Off the Streets, Stephen’s Place, Peabody, YMCA, Aspirations, and STARS Forward Trust.
They also work with agencies such as the Probation Service, the police, Southend Street Rangers, Southend City Council’s Rough Sleeping Initiative, social care, housing, Brook, and other EPUT teams and wider health services, including GPs.