Homeless Night Shelter Wrap-up

The Brighton & Hove Churches' Winter Night Shelter has just completed its 18-week run from November 2014 to March 2015. Tonight, we had the Church Coordinators' final wrap-up meeting.

A total of 108 homeless men and women were referred to the Shelter by four of the city's front-line agencies that deal with the homeless on a daily basis; First Base, Project AntiFreeze, YMCA and the Crime Reduction Initiative. About half (52) of these individuals gained places in the Shelter. A total of 16 persons - including all four women - out of the 52 that entered the Shelter were subsequently provided with housing by the local authority - a great result. It is a condition of entering the Shelter programme that individuals have to engage with initiatives to improve their lot, such as attend housing or work interviews, attend addiction programmes or undertake relevant training.

At Sacred Heart Church we looked after 21 separate homeless guests during our nine-week spell, including three women.

Interestingly, this season we have seen more individuals with deep-seated problems that, in many cases, arose at an early age, whether it was mental health issues, trauma or a particularly negative experience. Also, there seems to have been more fractiousness between individuals, particularly over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. Finally, the baleful influence of 'legal highs' on the behaviour of several guests was quite evident this year. 

This was the first time that the Shelter made places available for homeless women (in previous years other specialist agencies had looked after them, or they remained on the streets) and the innovation was an undoubted success. Apart from the guests that were successfully housed, there were other examples of individuals who began to transform their lives, and, in at least one case, embraced faith. Of course, there are others who returned to the streets with little to look forward to and will revert to their addictions. But, as Tom, one of the Central Coordinators, remarked, all the guests' lives were impacted by the love and care they experienced from the Shelter volunteers and, in God's own time, and if it is His will, the love they experienced will bear fruit. Similarly, it seems to have been a common experienced that, once again, the Shelter volunteers were greatly enriched by caring for those who have so little.

Sacred Heart Church's Winter Night Shelter Opens

The Sacred Heart Church's Winter Night Shelter opened last night and we had 14 guests, including one lady (we admitted female guests for the first time this year).

I was struck by the variety of nationalities involved this year. Talking with Fr Kevin afterwards, we reckoned that we spoke with people from 8-9 different countries; Eastern Europe was well represented as usual, with guests from Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia and other countries – and our first Swiss guest!

Sadly, in many cases the guests are with us because of broken dreams. The dream of getting a job in the UK and being able to afford housing remains a dream. The reality is jobs that have fallen through, jobs that were advertised but never existed and jobs that were lost for unknown reasons. The reality is that savings are used up, housing is no longer affordable, and nights are spent outside trying to shelter from the wind, endless rain and bitter cold.

That’s where the shelter comes in. We provide warmth, safety, comfort, good food – Thai chicken curry from Maestro Georges last night – and companionship.

We also have fun doing it. As evidence, here is a photo of last night’s Evening Team - together with the famous beds and bags.     

Preparing for the Winter Homeless Night Shelter

This year the Sacred Heart Church will again be acting as a Tuesday-night host for nine of the 18 weeks that the Winter Homeless Night Shelter will be running.

Eleven churches in Brighton and Hove are participating; five Anglican, two Baptist, two Evangelical Protestant and two Catholic (including Sacred Heart). The Shelter opened on 22^nd November and runs until 27^th March 2015 with a nightly capacity of up to 15 homeless men and women. Three of the largest churches will host all 18 weeks while smaller ones, like Sacred Heart will host nine weeks.  

This the fourth time that we have participated in the Shelter and it has been a huge success, providing warmth, security and good food to the guests, while engendering a wonderful spirit of selflessness and spirit de corps among the volunteers. I’m not particularly psychic but I’m convinced that we have one extra guest each night – the Holy Spirit!  

As Church Coordinators for the Shelter, my wife and I have been very busy over the last two weeks - hence no blogging! – therefore I thought I would make a record of what needed to be done.

·         Early September there arrives the initial email from the Overall Church Coordinator with details of the upcoming shelter, new policies etc.

·         Shortly after, I email all the previous winter’s volunteers to see if they will volunteer again, and I also start putting out feelers in the community for more volunteers.

·         Then, it’s time to review all old and new Brighton & Hove Central Churches policies governing the running of the Shelters, as well as the Volunteer Handbook that is the primary guide for the volunteers.

·         Early November there is a planning meeting with Parish Priest followed by formal weekly status reports during November. There is also a planning meeting with all seven Church Coordinators who are working during the first nine weeks. Patrick, who will lead one of our two teams, is back from holiday in France so we meet to go over plans and draft schedules.  

·         By this time, the emails are fairly busy with traffic from old and new volunteers.

·         Printing takes up some time. There are guides and various forms to be printed, plus 60 copies of the Volunteer Sign-up form, 50 copies of the volunteer handbook (850 pages of printing!). Volunteer forms are then set out in the church porch and the first of several notices prepared for the church newsletter.

·         By now the spreadsheet of volunteer details has started to grow and a very rough schedule of assignments can be prepared. Regular update emails have to be sent to volunteers advising them of progress.

·         By mid-November it’s time to carry out the annual Health & safety Review of the church’s Parish Room where the Shelter will be located. There is a fairly extensive checklist that includes verifying boiler, lighting and fire alarm systems servicing, inspecting fire extinguishers, checking first aid boxes, testing smoke alarms, reviewing fire test logs, etc.

·         Since we will host female guests for the first time, we have to re-write procedures and purchase room dividers to provide segregated male and female sleeping quarters.

·         It’s time to think about general purchases so we carry out an inventory of material left over from last year, then update the list of things like plastic plates and cutlery, general foodstuffs, cleaning and disinfectant supplies, gloves, tinfoil etc. Mrs R will do the shopping later. We also need to acquire two sets of keys to various rooms.

·         The number of volunteers is slightly down on last year and, as usual, there are few volunteers for the Overnight Shift (10.30pm to 6.30am). Frantic scurrying around ensues!

·         St John Ambulance is offering a Front Line Workers First Aid course again this year so I need to look for applicants among the volunteers.

·         The Training Evening will happen soon, one week before the Shelter opens, so it must be prepared for; materials will need updating and printing, speakers and volunteers have to be invited, refreshments bought, presentations prepared.

·         All the Brighton and Hove churches involved in the Winter Homeless Night Shelter assembled on 14^th November for a launch evening at One Church in central Brighton. We had prayers, songs and speeches. Two former guests who have transformed their lives and found accommodation were there to speak of their experience of being hosted by the Shelter. It is a moving tale of gratitude for the love, care and attention they received, quite emotional. Indeed, as I arrived, they were waiting outside the venue and each gave me a rib-cracking bear hug.

·         By now we have about 50 volunteers, enough to staff two teams but the Overnight Shift (two men and two women volunteers) still has some gaps.

·         Our Training Evening on 18^th November is a great success. About 35 volunteers turn up for an evening of training, information-sharing, refreshments and laughter. As Fr Kevin noted, there was a great atmosphere - quite a buzz - which bodes well for our Shelter.

·         The Winter Night Shelter formally opened on Saturday 23^rd November at St Peter’s Anglican Church in central Brighton. There were 13 guests including one woman and all went well.

We will open the Sacred Heart Shelter in two days time. Think of us and say a prayer for the success of the Shelter.       

Christmas, the Homeless and Midnight Mass

On Sunday 22nd December Pope Francis, prompted by a banner in St Peter's Square that read 'The Poor Cannot Wait,'  compared the difficulties of homeless families to that of the Holy Family, when the Lord Jesus was born in a stable and the family was then forced to flee to Egypt. The Pope called on everyone to do everything possible to ensure that every family has a place to live. A few days earlier he celebrated his 77th birthday by inviting four homeless men to breakfast. This is a Pope who 'walks the talk.'

We had the opportunity and privilege to offer - in a very limited way - good food, a safe and warm sleeping space and companionship to several homeless men last night - Christmas Eve - at the Sacred Heart Church's night shelter.

It was the work of a couple of hours to erect the folding beds, haul the men's bags (containing their duvets, sheets, pillows) from the van, set up and lay the tables, put out reading material, snacks, set up the kitchen and do the necessary admin. There were chocolates on the side table, a Christmas tree and seasonal table decorations.

The beds are ready

and the tables are set

As there are a number of charities that help the homeless in Brighton & Hove, we assumed the men would have taken advantage of a free lunch offered by several churches at this time of the year, so we decided against the traditional fare of turkey, Christmas Pudding and mince pies. Instead, Rachel and Tara and their team cooked a beef stew with dumplings, mash and veg, followed by tiramisu and cloud cake. Under the watchful eye of maestro Georges, assisted by Cathy, the kitchen became an orderly bedlam of steam, smells, bubbling liquids and shrieks of laughter. The only tears came from Tara who stood furiously chopping onions, wiping her eyes, wet streaks running down her cheeks.

Tara sheds a tear or two

but soon recovers from the onions!

Before dinner, we gave each man a Christmas card signed by all the volunteers on duty, together with a Boots Gift Card for £10 (- thank you SVP!) At dinner we pulled crackers, told jokes and stuffed ourselves. Father Kevin roared at this joke from a cracker:
What is an Ig?
It's an Eskimo house without a toilet...(I suspect he will find a way to use it in a homily).

After dinner, a dozen guests and volunteers sat down to puzzle over Lynne's annual Christmas Quiz. There were questions on geography, movies, famous personalities and so on, all lavishly illustrated. Phill won the huge box of chocolates and Patrick moderated the debate over the answers in his usual urbane way.

A couple of the men asked if they could attend midnight Mass so three guests and four volunteers hurried off at 11.20 pm to listen to the carols before Mass began. One of the men told me that he had last been to Mass when he was about five or six years old and was very keen to experience it again. Another couldn't remember when he had last been and was a little unsure whether he should go, but his curiosity overcame his caution. (When I spoke to them this morning, Christmas Day, they were still enthused about the experience. When I told them that they had been away from the shelter for two hours, they did not believe me - but it was true; half an hour of carols, an hour and a half of Mass. It must have flown past for them. One of them described the choir's singing as 'Heavenly...it sent goose-bumps up my spine').  

Speaking of the choir, by kind permission of Jane I was able to take my camera and perch on a chair in the corner of the choir loft, taking a few (discreet) photos of the Mass. It was the first time I had observed the choir in action - and the volume of sound is scary! Thundering organ, soaring violin and raised voices made the space vibrate. It was beautiful, haunting and powerful. Jane even invited me to sing with the choir - I think she must have a good sense of humour.    

The choir 

 Mass began on the dot of midnight as Fr. Kevin processed down the aisle with five servers (including the accomplished Georges who had just finished his shift cooking with the homeless shelter, and his daughter Cassie, another shelter volunteer.)

It was a special night. Thanks to all the wonderful selfless night shelter volunteers and to the guests who let us become their family for a few brief hours. Deo Gratias!

The Winter Night Shelter Party

 

Party time tonight at the Sacred Heart to celebrate the end of Brighton & Hove Churches Winter Night Shelter, which ran from 1^st December 2012 to the beginning of March 2013. Nine churches provided dinner, overnight accommodation and breakfast for 15 homeless men each night for the three months of the shelter.

Each church was responsible for one night’s activity. This involved shopping for supplies, arranging the dining and sleeping accommodation,  assembling 15 beds, registration of the guests from 8.00-8.30pm, preparing and serving dinner, providing entertainment, overseeing sleeping arrangements with volunteers on duty all night, cooking and serving breakfast, departure of the guests by 8.00am, cleaning the venue and moving the beds and bedding on to the next church.

A total of 54 volunteers worked on the Night Shelter at Sacred Heart Church under Fr. Kevin Dring, formed into three shifts; Evening (7.00-10.45pm), Overnight (10.30pm-6.30am) and Morning (6.15-9.00am). Each shift had a designated Leader, a First Aider and a Fire Warden, with a Food Manger for the Evening and Morning shifts.

In total, 42 homeless men used the Shelter during the 14 weeks it was in operation. An important aspect of the Shelter was the effort made to help the men improve their lives (rather than merely to provide them with accommodation and food). Each guest was offered assistance with finding housing, getting work or identifying a course to improve their skills and, in total, 17 of the 42 men were found housing, with several more starting jobs or courses.

For the churches, the experience was enormously beneficial. It was the ability to carry out the Gospel command to feed the hungry and to shelter the homeless. It was the creation of caring communities that came together to be the Church in action. It was discovering the joy to be found in serving others. Approximately two-thirds of the volunteers at Sacred Heart were female and the ages of the volunteers ranged from university students in their late teens to pensioners, many of whom were over 70. There was a tremendous esprit de corps, with volunteers turning up early for their shifts just so they could spend more time with the guests and each other. Some comments from my file: ‘I was left with a nice warm fluffy feeling’ ‘I really enjoyed helping’ ‘it was a great experience’ ‘rewarding and pleasurable’ ‘I really loved being a volunteer.’  

So, we had a party. And we agreed that we would be volunteering again this winter.