9 things you may not know about the Archer Project - 27/07/2026
Most people think they know what a homelessness charity does - provide food, showers, laundry, and a safe place to rest.
"People think we're just emergency support for people experiencing homelessness, and that's it," says Alicia Thompson, Stability Manager at the Archer Project. "And I thought that before I started my role too, to be honest."
What Alicia’s learned since is that the visible, crisis-facing side of the project is only half the story. Here's some of what's happening behind it.
1. There's a whole team for people who are focused on their journey through stabilisation
Alongside the Archer Project's engagement work, which covers people who may be rough sleeping, have no benefits set up, and are starting-from-scratch, sits a second stream: stabilisation. It's for people who've moved past a crisis point, but are still at risk of falling back into it.
"Ten or so years ago there wasn't a team in place to focus on non-crisis people," Alicia explains. "It's so easy for us to focus on points of crisis, as that’s immediate and carries a high potential for harm, but there was still a cohort of people who weren't getting that level of support, just because their lifestyles weren't as chaotic. But equally, those people are still at risk of going back into homelessness, or relapsing, so they need support tailored to them."
2. Volunteers gave over 5,000 hours of support to the project last year, and most of them use the service themselves
The Archer Project's partner volunteer programme is built around people who are receiving support from the stability team and also volunteer on-site, in the kitchen, laundry, tea cupboard, and stores.
"We recorded over 5,000 hours that partner volunteers contributed to the centre last year," Alicia says. "Volunteers make up for around three full-time members of staff in terms of the time they give. We wouldn’t be able to run the project without them."
“Volunteering gives people that structure to the day, that purpose to get up in the morning, builds that positive social network around them," she says. "There've been some really positive friendships blossoming from the volunteer programme, which is really nice to see."
3. Ponies and sheep have both visited
Activities are a core part of stabilisation work, with a current favourite being animal therapy, which supports people using the project with their mental health and wellbeing.
"We had sheep visit us last week," Alicia says. “We have ponies as well, which is so bizarre. When I tell our professionals about it, they're like, 'What, in the project?' In the project, when we're closed, of course."
"We’ve recently been allocated further funding to provide wellbeing activities, and are looking at getting puppy therapy!"
The team also visit the cinema and go bowling, and arrange day trips to local cities and attractions, all focused around the interests of the volunteers themselves. “For many of the volunteers, they never got the chance to visit places as a child or young adult due to their circumstances and family upbringing. Even the simple experiences that so many of us take for granted are alien to some people.”
4. The door doesn't close after two years
Most commissioned homelessness services are built around a fixed window of support, often around two years, after which people move on. The Archer Project doesn't work that way.
"I think what can make our project different from other organisations is that we don't stop supporting people," Alicia says. "Understandably, because of funding for commissioned services, organisations can only work with people for a certain period. But we don't operate like that. We model our support on building trusting, meaningful relationships.
5. The peer mentors have been through it themselves
Two members of the team are peer mentors who came through the Archer Project as service users before joining staff.
"They've started at that crisis point, moved through, moved into supported employment, really tackled their issues, and are in a really good place now to support others, utilising their own experience," Alicia says. "The difference that makes, having those two members of staff on board who are more relatable to people, discussing how to tackle loneliness, build positive friendships and starting again, because they've gone through it all themselves."
6. A full rebuild starts this November
From 1 November, the Archer Project will begin a 50-week rebuild, reworking its layout so that crisis and stabilisation spaces are properly separated for the first time, with dedicated entrances, quiet rooms, and one-to-one spaces.
"There's just not those quiet spaces for reflection, for calm, for one-to-one conversations," Alicia says of the current building. "Even the rooms we do have, we still got an ear listening out for any crisis going on. The building no longer reflects a trauma-informed space”
This rebuild is not just about repairing physical damage after an arson attack in 2020; it is about creating a space that truly supports the recovery and well-being of people experiencing homelessness.
You can learn more about the rebuild, and support the team’s campaign here: https://archerproject.org.uk/rebuild
7. One man's journey shows what stabilisation is for
Alicia described a man who spent around 20 years involved in gang life before prison, release, and homelessness brought him to the Archer Project. He started coming in for sleeping and volunteering in the kitchen, then began one-to-one work on housing, substance misuse, and future goals.
"That intense support has been, I mean, it still is provided," Alicia says. "He's had dips and relapses with drug and alcohol, but he's got structure to his day now. He's got purpose. He's got income coming in. He's moved away from that street community."
He's now working in one of Archer Project’s social enterprise businesses, and recently stood up at the Archer Project's Spring Ball to tell his own story.
"It means more coming from someone who has experienced homelessness directly," Alicia says, "rather than me writing about it and speaking about it, because it's that more personal touch."
8. People on the streets aren't always who you'd expect
No two stories are the same in people’s journeys. Different people present to the project with different circumstances i.e. care and prison leavers, relationship breakdowns, asylum seekers etc. "Since working here, what I have noticed is the level of pride many people take in their presentation. For a lot of people it’s the only thing they have got", says Alicia.
9. There's a screen printing studio and a cleaning company behind it all
For people ready to move into paid work, the Archer Project runs two social enterprises of its own: Printed by Us and Just Clean.
Printed by Us is a hand screen printing studio, producing small batches of art prints, clothing, tote bags, and mugs, with every piece signed by both the artist and the printer who made it. Just Clean delivers commercial cleaning contracts across Sheffield, from independent coffee shops to shared business spaces, using eco-friendly products.
Both are built around supported, paid employment for people with lived experience of homelessness, giving them a structured route from volunteering into real jobs, real wages, and real responsibility.
It's the destination Alicia describes when she talks about people moving from crisis, through stabilisation, and into fulfilment.
As Alicia puts it: "There's no such thing as a typical homeless person, and no one path that people follow."
As told to Alison Wise for Help us Help, July 2026