How you can help Hastings homeless this winter

Snowflake Winter Night Shelter will return next month '“ and is looking for volunteers.
Volunteers preparing food for the shelter's guestsVolunteers preparing food for the shelter's guests
Volunteers preparing food for the shelter's guests

The night shelter, now in its seventh year, will run nightly from November 30, 2018, to March 20, 2019, and will use seven different church halls, which are provided free by the churches involved.

The Night Shelter is financed solely by grants from trusts and donations, and provides supervised overnight accommodation to homeless people who would otherwise be sleeping rough in the area during the extreme winter months.

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This includes a warm bed; hospitality and engagement with willing volunteers to facilitate wellbeing and positive self-esteem; shelter from the winter weather; hot drinks and meals; in liaison with specialist agencies, encouragement in accessing relevant longer-term solutions to individual housing needs.

Last year, the number of guests assisted/enabled to ‘move on’ to suitable accommodation was 24, with 63 rough sleepers making use of the shelter.

The Night Shelter is looking for volunteers for this winter, and prospective volunteers are invited to one of this year’s registration meetings. Interested parties need only attend one meeting. The evening will concentrate on exactly what volunteers will be expected to do, when, how and why.

Meetings will be held on:

• Sunday, October 28 at St Matthews Church Hall, London Road, Silverhill.

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• Monday, October 29 at Salvation Army Citadel, St Andrews Square, Hastings.

• Tuesday, November 6 at St Mary Star of the Sea, High Street, Hastings Old Town.

• Wednesday, October 24 at Wellington Square Baptist Church, Hastings.

• Thursday, November 1 at Chapel Park Community Centre, St Leonards.

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• Friday, October 26 at St John’s Church Hall, Brittany Road, St Leonards.

• Saturday, October 27 at Concordia Hall, Church Road, St Leonards.

All meetings start at 6pm. There is no need to book a place, just turn up.

To find out more about the Snowflake Night Shelter and how to help, visit the website at http://www.snowflake-nightshelter.org.uk/ or contact [email protected].