Ipswich churches offer shelter to rough sleepers

 

The aim is to open up town centre churches every night over the coldest winter period. Seven church halls in Ipswich will open their doors from 8pm to 8am seven days a week from Wednesday December 14 until mid February to ensure no-one has to sleep rough. One venue will be open each night and volunteers will welcome the guests, cook for those staying and eat with them.

 

Chair of the organising committee, Rev Canon Paul Daltry, said: “This is a practical way churches can offer support to some of the poorest in our communities. A night shelter was first opened in Ipswich for 10 days over Christmas in 2004, and this new initiative grew from that vision. Members of the organising team have visited similar shelters in other parts of the country – there are now 15 in London alone – and in all cases it was an example of the whole body of Christ’s church working together.”

 

Louise Brown, who was one of those with the original vision, said “The two key words we are using are Hospitality and Hope. We will be offering safety, warmth, a meal, friendship and hospitality over the coldest winter months. Our approach is a simple one, drawing on existing resources. “

 

Churches involved in the project are:

(Tuesday night has still to be determined).

 

The pilot project will start on December 14^th and will last for two months, or longer depending on need.

 

Each church will have a co-ordinator and the project will link with the Council, existing homeless agencies and other organisations which have involvement in this area, including the Housing Action Group and the police. The aim is that rough sleepers can be assessed and offered appropriate longer term housing to help turn their lives around.

 

Roger Fern, Chair of the Ipswich Umbrella Trust, which was set up after the 2004 night shelter, said “We run a day centre for five days each week, based at the Community Resource Centre, but our original vision had always been to marry this with a night shelter. We have not been able to progress this part of the work, and I warmly welcome this new initiative. For the whole period we have been working in this area there have been between 35 and 55 people in Ipswich who have been homeless for some time each month, for various reasons, and the need is unlikely to reduce”.

 

Maureen Reynel of Ipswich based FIND (Families in Need) said that they have helped 61 rough sleepers so far this year and welcomed the opportunity to work with this new project, though the challenges would be significant.

 

Team member, Fiona Abbot, said “We now have expertise on the organising team in many areas but we do need more administrative help. We also need volunteers to help with practical things like setting tables, cooking and befriending – and of course the whole work must be supported by continuous prayer."

 

"Helpers can come from any church – they don’t have to be from a church where the work is based. This is open to anyone to help – we hope that support will come from both churches and the wider local community".

 

"We shall also need lots of equipment at each centre, such as mattresses, bedding, cutlery etc.”

 

At each venue there will be three teams of volunteers - six people to set up, cook dinner and welcome the guests; four volunteers on duty at each church hall right through night and another team of four making breakfast and clearing up at the end of the night. There will be spaces for 12 guests at each centre.

 

Two prayer events have been arranged to lead into the start of the project: