Hope For The Homeless
New partnerships offer shelter and support in Wandsworth and Clapham
Glass Door (formerly WLCHC) is London’s largest network of emergency winter night shelters. The charity’s shelters provide a safe, warm place to sleep for 85 to 100 men and women a night in churches across the boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Wandsworth.
Guests experiencing homelessness can also access advice, food, showers and laundry facilities from drop-in day centres. Glass Door not only saves lives by providing refuge from the cold, they also help their guests build more stable futures.
Simon has had a rough year. His landlord neglected fixing his rental flat in Brixton even though Simon says he kept up with his rent. When the pipes burst one day last January, exposed electrical lines resulted in a blast that blew the doors off the property. “I just turned in my keys and walked away,” Simon says.
The local council told him he wasn’t a high enough priority and couldn’t help, even though Simon is bi-polar and needs to take medication regularly.
With nowhere else to go, 45-year old Simon slept wherever he could - on buses, in doorways and even in hospital A&E waiting rooms. “They don’t mind as long as you arrive after midnight,” he says. But the nomadic life took its toll. "I’m wiped out,” Simon said on the eve of entering the Glass Door shelter.
He was one of the first to sign up for a new shelter that opened this winter in Wandsworth, thanks to seven new churches joining the Glass Door network.
St Mary's Church Putney has been partnering with Glass Door for several years already. Every Monday night they shelter at least 35 men and women and feed many more. The shelter is oversubscribed and anyone looking to join has to register through Glass Door.
The church is looking for donations to assist the homeless. Fleeces, waterproof jackets, jumpers, trainers, tracksuits tops and bottoms (either or both) gloves, warm hats, new socks and pants and jeans are all needed. St Mary's also needs toiletries such as shampoo, toothpaste, tooth brushes, liquid soap/shower gel and deodorant. Please make sure that they are only dropped off to the office at St Marys on a Monday.
Ace of Clubs, a Clapham-based drop-in centre, is providing Glass Door caseworker Boguslaw with an office while he works with guests of the new Wandsworth shelters and clients of the centre.
Ace of Clubs centre manager Sarah Miles says she grabbed the opportunity to work with Glass Door. “The biggest need our clients have is for housing.” Up to 100 individuals regularly come to the centre for lunch and to do laundry or shower, but few options exist to move clients on into shelter or housing. “It’s one of the most frustrating aspects of the job,” Sarah says.
Simon and 84 others join one of three Glass Door shelters every night, the youngest guest is 23 and the oldest 68 years old. The shelters regularly host about twelve women. These guests will be able to find shelter for up to three months this winter, giving them a chance to rest and find some stability.
Sarah knows sorting out Simon’s housing situation will take a bit of time, and she’s glad he can at least find somewhere safe and warm to sleep in the meantime. “At least now we can move people in the right direction,” she says. “It’s great to have that opportunity.”
Local churches providing winter shelters venues in 2016/2017 include:
Barnes Methodist Church
St Barnabas Church, Southfields
St Luke's Battersea
St Mark's Battersea Rise
St Mary's Putney Bridge
St Michael & All Angels Southfields
St Peter's Battersea
Christmas is often the most difficult time of year for people who are homeless. Glass Door shelters provide a welcome refuge from November to April and right through the holiday period, thanks to the commitment of volunteers, staff and the churches who host the shelters. If you would like to find out more about their work and how to help, please visit www.glassdoor.org.uk
Local churches providing winter shelters venues in 2016/2017 include:
Barnes Methodist Church
St Barnabas Church, Southfields
St Luke's Battersea
St Mark's Battersea Rise
St Mary's Putney Bridge
St Michael & All Angels Southfields
St Peter's Battersea
November 27, 2016