Trust someone
Care Centre Manager, Phil Ansell, talks about the joys and sadnesses of supporting our city's homeless and often most vulnerable people over the past year.
It's been such a good year at the Care Centre. We've refurbished thanks to support from the Screwfix Foundation and several corporate work teams. We've established a number of support groups at the centre, including MIND, Crisis and the DWP. We've helped 61 people into accommodation, and totalled 10,358 attendances over the year.
To raise awareness of World Homelessness Day in October, we laid on a special meal and gifts. It was one of the year’s highlights and everyone attending thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Published in the same month was the sobering news that the number of homeless and of homeless deaths has increased. And as I write, I and other colleagues have attended a memorial service for a lady who came to the Care Centre. Sadly there was no-one at her burial and just a handful of people at the service today. We went to remember her and also to support her partner who struggles with his health and addiction.
On my drive to work I see some graffiti on a board which says, ‘Trust someone’. Below has been added, ‘Aye that right?’ It brings to mind two verses in Psalm 9 which say:
‘The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed, and a refuge in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.’
