Crisp winter mornings and dark cold evenings used to make me think of fireworks, log fires and Christmas. However since getting involved with setting up The Living Room winter night shelter last year, it now turns my mind to other things. It reminds me that at this time of year when I look forward to the warmth and comfort of my home, for many people the street is their only home and finding a sleeping place with a small amount of shelter from the elements is the best they can hope for.
Great Yarmouth is not a big town, but nevertheless, like so many other places in the UK it's not exempt from the problem of homelessness. It is a problem that has touched the hearts of many people in the area, and which the local churches felt they could be involved in addressing. Conversations took place between the churches and other agencies around the town and there was a consensus that a winter night shelter was needed for those who were sleeping rough.
As a result, The Living Room opened as a pilot between January and March, staffed by 20 volunteers, meeting on Saturday nights in a small building owned by the parish of Great Yarmouth. An evening at The Living Room consisted of a hot meal shared by visitors and volunteers together, followed by activities afterwards from board games to one-off workshops and then the chance for a wash and a warm (air)bed with fresh bedding.
Last year we had a creative writing and poetry workshop run by a visiting poet from Norwich. On another night one of our regular visitors brought along the African drumming group that he belongs to and they gave us a lesson in drumming. We have a project co-ordinator too, partly funded from money raised from Church Urban Fund's Advent Sleepout Challenge, who meets with visitors to give them support and help them apply for benefits and housing.
For those volunteers who want to, there is an opportunity to pray before The Living Room opens for the evening. Many of the church volunteers said the experience of working at the Living Room deepened their faith, strengthened relationships with other Christians and churches in the area, and helped them to know how to pray. One time a visitor brought a Bible in that he had found on the streets, he was really excited about having found it. He read parts of the Bible out loud that evening.
This year we are expanding our provision to three nights a week, with two new venues (New Frontiers and Baptist churches) coming on board. We will opening earlier, on December 1, with space for 10 visitors. The Portuguese congregation at one of our new venues will be cooking the evening meal on one night.
The experience of working with the shelter has really opened my eyes to the reality of homelessness and particularly the vulnerability of people who are homeless and the amount of abuse and attacks that they experience. To get to know some of these visitors has been a really powerful experience. Winter will never be quite the same again for me. It now reminds me of the struggles and dangers which it brings for those who are homeless. But it also reminds me of the laughter, companionship and hope which being part of The Living Room brings.
If you would like to fund the work of this night shelter and others like it across the country, it's not too late to host an Advent Sleepout Challenge to raise money. Find out more here.
Anna Heydon is the development worker for Imagine Norfolk Together, the joint venture between the Diocese of Norwich and Church Urban Fund.
