Churches serve Londons homeless with shelter and hot food

North London churches are keeping homeless people warm and well fed this winter with the re-opening of the Route 18 Brent Winter Shelter.

Seven churches will take it in turns to run the shelter each night of the week over the next four months.

The shelter provides local homeless people with a bed for the night, an evening meal, the company of volunteers and access to professionals at Cricklewood Homeless Concern who can help them find full-time accommodation and solutions to other problems they may have.

The Route 18 shelter is in its second year, after being launched last year by Cricklewood Homeless Concern and the South of Brent Deanery Community Development Project.

Last winter, the shelter was run by 240 church-based volunteers and provided 1,100 bed spaces and more than 2,200 meals to homeless people in the Brent area.

This year, the shelter will offer meals and accommodation right throughout the Christmas period after being opened earlier in the month at an awareness raising event joined by the Bishop of Willesden, the Rt Rev Pete Broadbent, and the Mayor of Brent, Cllr Jim O’Sullivan.

Bishop Broadbent said the scheme was “a real example of Brent’s churches and communities working together”.

At a Downing Street reception last week, Prime Minister Gordon Brown praised two of the volunteers involved in the scheme for their work to ensure that no one would have to sleep on the streets of Brent this winter.

Marlon Nelson, Community Development Officer for the South of Brent Deanery Community Development Project, was one of the volunteers to receive the Prime Minister’s praise.

“I want to give credit to all of those that work so tirelessly to ensure the success of the night shelter,” he said.

“We have accomplished so much using a basic and simple concept and delivery method. Long may it continue.”

The Route 18 Brent Winter Shelter is run by volunteers from All Souls Harlesden, St Michael’s Tokyngton, St Luke’s and Emmanuel West Kilburn, St Mark’s Kensal Rise, The Church of God Tubbs Road, Willesden 7th Day Adventist and the Community Church of Harlesden.