Safe homes. Dignity. Belonging. Hope.
Cowley Haven Homes is a community housing initiative for people of all faiths and none.
The project has been established by the Parish of Cowley St John, using church land to respond practically to homelessness and housing insecurity in Oxford. While the project has grown from the parish’s commitment to serving its community, Cowley Haven Homes is distinct from the worshipping life and religious activities of the parish church.
Our homes and support will be available without regard to faith, belief, background, ethnicity, sexuality, disability or whether someone has any connection with the Church. There is no expectation that residents attend church, participate in Christian worship, adopt a particular faith, or become involved in parish life.
Our purpose
Our purpose is simple: to provide safe, dignified and sustainable homes for people who need them, alongside appropriate support and signposting that can help residents establish stability and independence.
We particularly want to respond to people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, and especially women who need to rebuild their lives after leaving abusive or controlling relationships.
We recognise that every person’s circumstances are different. Our approach will therefore be centred on the individual, respecting their choices, dignity, privacy and independence.
Open to everyone
East Oxford is home to people from many cultures, religions and backgrounds, and Cowley Haven Homes reflects the community in which it is based. We welcome and respect Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Jews, Buddhists, people of other faiths, and people who hold no religious belief. Residents will be free to practise their own faith or beliefs, or none, without pressure or judgement. Access to housing or support will never depend upon participation in religious activity.
Our values
Although the project has been initiated by the parish, the values at its heart are universal: dignity, compassion, equality, safety, respect and hope. We believe everyone deserves a safe place to call home and the opportunity to build a secure future.
We will seek to work with local authorities, housing and homelessness organisations, domestic abuse services, charities, community organisations and faith communities to ensure residents can access appropriate professional and practical support.
More than accommodation
A home can be the beginning of something much bigger. Secure accommodation can provide the stability needed to address other challenges, reconnect with community, pursue employment or education, improve wellbeing and begin planning for the future.
Cowley Haven Homes will not seek to make decisions for residents. Our aim is to create the conditions in which people can regain choice, independence and control over their own lives.
Our relationship with the Parish of Cowley St John
The Parish of Cowley St John has provided the vision and land from which Cowley Haven Homes is being developed and, through the PCC, is responsible for the project. However, receiving a home or support through Cowley Haven Homes will not be conditional upon religious belief or involvement with the parish.
Pastoral support from the church will be available to residents who choose to seek it, just as we seek to help people access appropriate support from other faith communities, community organisations and specialist services according to their own wishes and needs.
Our ambition is for Cowley Haven Homes to belong to the wider community it serves: a place where everyone is welcomed as a person of equal worth, where difference is respected, and where a home can become the foundation for a new beginning.