Winter Night Shelter 2016
Monday 4 January – Monday 15 February 2016
Recipe:
Take 12 homeless men
A variety of cereals
112 eggs
210 rashers of bacon
35 tins of beans
10 tins of tomatoes
6 bags of hash browns
210 sausages
Plus 21 loaves of bread
5 kilos of sugar
8 gallons of black coffee
And that’s just for breakfast ………
On Monday 4 January 2016, South Aston United Reformed Church, for the 3rd year running, began its Winter Night Shelter Project for 2016. At about 7.15 pm, on the 4 January, 12 hungry homeless men arrived at the church. This also marked the first night of the 2016 Night Shelter Project for the Birmingham Churches Together and Thrive.
A cooked evening meal followed by pudding was served each Monday evening, with the first meal on offer being roast chicken drumsticks with mash and vegetables, followed by apple crumble, prepared under the watchful eye of Cathy, our Church Secretary! A full cooked breakfast was served each Tuesday morning by the breakfast team!
During the course of the Shelter, we were also able to provide clean warm clothing for those who were in need.
For weeks prior to the start of the project, we had been working hard raising funds, and recruiting volunteers to assist. We would like to thank all the volunteers who gave of their time to help in whatever way, such as making beds, cooking, socialising with the guests, clearing away on the Tuesday morning, and laundering the bed linen. A great team effort, without which we could not take part in this very worthwhile project.
Thanks go to the people who have supported us financially, such as:
Greggs Foundation,
Aston Parish Church
Carol Singing at Tesco
Wilton Road URC
Bishop Latimer Church
And donations from our Church Members
Without their generous support, the project would not succeed.
Also, donations of food have been made by Bishop Latimer, Wilton Road and the Aston and Nechells Foodbank, with Pret a Manger providing sandwiches and baguettes for our guests to take with them on the Tuesday morning.
And now for the maths:
Number of beds provided by us over 7 weeks 84
Total number of guests 19
Volunteers 36 different people volunteered, with an average of 17 people on duty per night/morning session. Some of these volunteers did more than one shift per session.
Add to this the laundry team, which consisted of 5 people, who washed, dried and ironed (!!) the bed linen and towels.
For the first time, Birmingham Churches Together have extended the Night Shelter to cover a total of 13 weeks. We did 7 weeks and St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church in Digbeth have now taken over the Monday night/Tuesday morning slot. The project will end on Monday/Tuesday 28/29 March 2016.
I am part of the Birmingham Homeless Christian Forum Project which looks at homelessness in our City of Birmingham, and The Winter Night Shelter comes under this umbrella.
Once again we thank everyone who has contributed to this project, in whatever way. This project brings together lots of people from different backgrounds, all working together to the one aim.
Revd. Peter Little
If you would like to read more about this initiative please go to this link -
http://www.housingjustice.org.uk/pages/christian-homeless-forum.html
Monday 4 January – Monday 15 February 2016
Recipe:
Take 12 homeless men
A variety of cereals
112 eggs
210 rashers of bacon
35 tins of beans
10 tins of tomatoes
6 bags of hash browns
210 sausages
Plus 21 loaves of bread
5 kilos of sugar
8 gallons of black coffee
And that’s just for breakfast ………
On Monday 4 January 2016, South Aston United Reformed Church, for the 3rd year running, began its Winter Night Shelter Project for 2016. At about 7.15 pm, on the 4 January, 12 hungry homeless men arrived at the church. This also marked the first night of the 2016 Night Shelter Project for the Birmingham Churches Together and Thrive.
A cooked evening meal followed by pudding was served each Monday evening, with the first meal on offer being roast chicken drumsticks with mash and vegetables, followed by apple crumble, prepared under the watchful eye of Cathy, our Church Secretary! A full cooked breakfast was served each Tuesday morning by the breakfast team!
During the course of the Shelter, we were also able to provide clean warm clothing for those who were in need.
For weeks prior to the start of the project, we had been working hard raising funds, and recruiting volunteers to assist. We would like to thank all the volunteers who gave of their time to help in whatever way, such as making beds, cooking, socialising with the guests, clearing away on the Tuesday morning, and laundering the bed linen. A great team effort, without which we could not take part in this very worthwhile project.
Thanks go to the people who have supported us financially, such as:
Greggs Foundation,
Aston Parish Church
Carol Singing at Tesco
Wilton Road URC
Bishop Latimer Church
And donations from our Church Members
Without their generous support, the project would not succeed.
Also, donations of food have been made by Bishop Latimer, Wilton Road and the Aston and Nechells Foodbank, with Pret a Manger providing sandwiches and baguettes for our guests to take with them on the Tuesday morning.
And now for the maths:
Number of beds provided by us over 7 weeks 84
Total number of guests 19
Volunteers 36 different people volunteered, with an average of 17 people on duty per night/morning session. Some of these volunteers did more than one shift per session.
Add to this the laundry team, which consisted of 5 people, who washed, dried and ironed (!!) the bed linen and towels.
For the first time, Birmingham Churches Together have extended the Night Shelter to cover a total of 13 weeks. We did 7 weeks and St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church in Digbeth have now taken over the Monday night/Tuesday morning slot. The project will end on Monday/Tuesday 28/29 March 2016.
I am part of the Birmingham Homeless Christian Forum Project which looks at homelessness in our City of Birmingham, and The Winter Night Shelter comes under this umbrella.
Once again we thank everyone who has contributed to this project, in whatever way. This project brings together lots of people from different backgrounds, all working together to the one aim.
Revd. Peter Little
If you would like to read more about this initiative please go to this link -
http://www.housingjustice.org.uk/pages/christian-homeless-forum.html
