Issue 28, February The free monthly for London`s homeless

Transcription

Issue 28, February
YO
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ON
CH
A
IN
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The free monthly for London’s homeless
E
R
A
2 / The Pavement, February 2008
“He’s my financial advisor”
The Pavement, February 2008 / 3
www.thepavement.org.uk
Issue 28 / February 2008
Published by
The Pavement
Registered Charity Number 1110656
PO Box 43675, London, SE22 8YL
Telephone: 020 7833 0050
E-mail: [email protected]
Editor
Richard Burdett
Sub Editor / Web Editor
Val Stevenson
News Editor
Catherine Neilan
Reporters
Rebecca Burn-Callander, Thea
Deakin-Greenwood, Clara Denina,
Rebecca Evans, Naomi Glass, Theodore
Kermeliotis, Carlo Svaluto Moreolo,
Naomi Osinnowo, Amanda Palmer,
Carinya Sharples, Rebecca Wearn
The Editor
The first new issue of the New Year
We’re back from our January break, and we’ve made a few
changes to the magazine, which we hope will improve it.
For a start it now has four more pages, running to 36 pages, which
allows us to fit in everything without it getting too cramped. It also
means The List is increased by two pages, so if you have an idea
for services to include, let us know, as we have the space now.
This List has also undergone a change in layout, now upside-down
from the back, reading inwards. This is for two reasons – to give the
listings the prominence they deserve, and allow a magazine cover
to be seen whichever way the magazine is dropped. This way, copies
thrown onto tables in a day centre are more likely to get picked up.
If you like these changes, dislike them, feel ambivalent, or want to
comment on any aspect of The Pavement, past and future, go to the
website to complete our readership survey. We need your views.
Richard Burdett
Editor
[email protected]
Photographers
Rufus Exton, Katie Hyams
Designer
Emily O’Dwyer
Contributors
Agnes, Flo, Toe Slayer
Cartoonists
Nick Baker, Neil Bennett, Cluff, Pete
Dredge, Kathryn Lamb, Ed McLachlan,
Ken Pyne, Steve Way, Mike Williams
Advertising
[email protected]
Printed by
Evon Print Ltd, West Sussex
www.evonprint.co.uk
The Pavement is written for your
entertainment and information.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure
the accuracy of the publication, The
Pavement cannot be held responsible
for the use of the information it
publishes. The contents should not be
relied upon as a substitute for medical,
legal or professional advice. The
Pavement is a forum for discussion, and
opinions expressed in the paper are not
necessarily those of The Pavement.
Contents
Cover
Are you on CHAIN? We ask who’s on the system, and who is but
didn’t want to be.
Photography by Rufus Exton, Design by Emily O’Dwyer © 2008
Centre spread.
Survey – let us know what you think of this magazine, and what we
can do to improve it. Complete the survey at:
www.thepavement.org.uk
News
Are you on CHAIN
Talking to Grant Shapps
Alternative housing
News-in-brief
Street Life
Dear Flo – medical records
Toe Slayer – on socks
Missing People
Agnes – your agony aunt
Cold Turkey – On holiday
Letters – reader’s views and comments
Homeless city guide
The List (incorporating soup runs)
Pages
4–5
6–7
8–9
11–17
20
21
22
23
24–25
26
36–27
Who’s on CHAIN?
We ask if some readers on CHAIN should be on the system
To consent or not to consent?
The Pavement has learned, when
it comes to CHAIN – the Combined Homeless and Information
Network – that some people
are included on this system
without their agreement.
CHAIN is a computerised information-sharing database system
run by Broadway. The database,
accessible to registered users only,
holds background information on
and personal details of hundreds
of vulnerably housed and homeless
people in the UK. The information is
passed to a variety of people, from
outreach workers to hostels, day
centres to the police. It can enable
outreach workers to discern exactly
which borough is responsible for
housing clients, as it will relay their
geographical movements since
their personal file was opened.
The great strength of CHAIN,
which has been in existence for
around seven years, is it reduces
cross-working and confusion,
especially when dealing with people
who tend to travel over the borough
boundaries. However, one part of
this process is less straightforward.
A vital section in the initial
CHAIN detail-giving process asks
whether the person gives ‘consent’,
though what the individual is
consenting to is unclear. And
some users are claiming that
despite having refused to give
‘consent’, some people are still
on the database, together with
all their personal information.
One CHAIN user explains: “On
the database, there is a section to
indicate if consent was given or
not. I first noticed this years ago
and was very surprised to see that
for some people it boldly stated
at the top of their page that they
had not given their consent to
be included on the database.”
Another CHAIN user confirmed this claim of misuse.
“Even without clients’ consent,
you can read previous entries
on them,” the source said.
In order for personal information to be legally shared under
the Data Protection Act in the UK,
consent must be given. The Act
itself is based on the recognition
of a number of Data Protection
Principles, and the Information
Commissioner implements those
principles through Enforcement
Notices. Failure to comply with Data
Protection Principles can give rise
to criminal penalties such as fines.
Ian Shenstone, the information team leader managing
CHAIN and its internal monitoring service, claims that 80–90 per
cent of the approximate 17,257
clients currently logged onto the
CHAIN system have consented to
having their information shared.
He explained that the three
options for workers logging new
clients onto CHAIN: written consent,
signed by the client; verbal consent,
for those who cannot for one
reason or another physically sign
their consent; and a third type for
those deemed too incapacitated
or intoxicated to give a balanced
judgment at that point in time.
“This third action for consent
is always considered temporary
and we would revisit those criteria
when the client is considered
more lucid,” says Mr Shenstone.
But what happens to the background information and personal
details of the 10–20 per cent who
have refused to give consent?
Despite users stating otherwise,
Mr Shenstone denies that any
violations of the Data Protection
Act have occurred: “It is clear when
a user signs up for CHAIN that
recording information about the
client’s consent is part of the data
entry process. If someone refuses
to give consent, their information is
erased from the system,” he says.
“Of course, it is possible that a
worker at an agency using CHAIN
could ignore this part of the
procedure, but we have to leave
a certain amount of trust in the
agencies. When agencies sign up
to CHAIN, they have to sign up to a
number of data protection clauses.
“If it came to light that
malpractice was going on and
an agency had used any clients’
information inappropriately, then
we would have to retract their
use of the system immediately.
But this has never happened.”
Regardless of whether or
not users of CHAIN have been
acting within the law, change
may well be on its way.
With the recent accidental
loss of government tax records
and driving licence records, public
demand for tougher enforcement action against government
authorities who breach the Data
Protection Act has strengthened.
Unsurprisingly, the question
of whether to consent or not to
consent to sharing your information holds no simple yes or no
answer. “On the whole, the scope
and enforcement of the Act are
incomplete and patchy,” says
London-based solicitor, David Glass.
“However, one has to weigh the
argument for tightening the Data
Protection legislation against the
public’s contradictory interest in
arguments for freedom of expression and access to information.”
Naomi Glass
Photography by Rufus Exton © 2006
Photography by Rufus Exton © 2008
“Even without clients’
consent, you can read
previous entries on them”
Grant Shapps © 2007
“Essentially, the government
was claiming the problem
had been dealt with”
Talking to Shapps
Shadow minister Grant Shapps MP and Tory attitudes to homelessness
After 30 minutes in the company
of Grant Shapps you are struck
by the child-like quality of his
manner. This is not due to his
appearance, although he is a
youthful 39-year-old. It is due to
his approach: Mr Shapps is tackling
Britain’s housing problems with
the fervour of a geeky teenager.
And he is a very keen student.
This Christmas, Mr Shapps spent
one night on the streets, his own
homework set for the cause. “I am
aware this will only be a tiny taste
of what life is like on the street,” he
says. “I know I will be in a bed the
night afterwards, and I know that
having to have the press with me
will not make it very authentic, but I
do think it will help me to understand what it is like on the streets.”
But is this just politics, naivety,
or a fresh approach to tackling
rough sleeping in the UK?
“Years ago, before I was a
politician, I was struck by the
fact that we were not capable of
housing our own people,” he says.
“It was a problem I found hard
to ignore, and I find it surprising
it has not been tackled in a more
conclusive way – it cannot be
beyond the weight of humankind?”
But although the minister has
since learned just how much weight
we need to throw behind homelessness, he does not seem intimidated.
“When I came into office, I felt
no one had talked about homelessness for some time, looked into why
and realised, essentially, the government was claiming the problem
had been dealt with,” explains Mr
Shapps. “I know it has not been.”
He made headlines in early
November when he released
a report criticising the UK’s
current counting system.
“The government claims there
are 498 rough sleepers in the
country. We think it is more like
1,300 rough sleepers and, therefore,
the resources given at present
do not get to the right places.”
The problem is simple, he claims:
local authorities are asked to
give bracketed numbers of rough
sleepers in their area, between
zero and 10, 11 and 20 and so on.
But when the number between
zero and 10 is given, this is not
listed as an average of five, but zero.
“The government claims authorities are likely to embellish these
figures – that is their justification for
rounding them down,” he explains.
“But I cannot understand
why the local authorities would
do this. There is no financial gain
to be had from having more
homeless people in your area.”
He was curious about The
Pavement’s ongoing campaign
for the truth behind head count
rumours and said he has heard
similar stories of miscounting. “I
have been told that there are areas
in the big cities, such as certain
parks or districts, where local
authorities will not go, because they
think it is too dangerous, and this
inhibits the counts accuracy,” he
says. “Surely if this area is dangerous, we should be counting these
people so we can help them?”
Mr Shapps proposes improving
trust between central government
and local authorities and charities
as the beginning of a solution, as
well as a separation of the issues of
rough sleeping, and homelessness.
“The rough sleepers unit in the
government has been wound up
into the Communities and Local
Government, but I do not believe
rough sleeping is the same as
homelessness,” said Mr Shapps.
“Facing a life on the street is not
the same as being in sheltered
accommodation, and these people
should not be lumped together.”
However, Mr Shapps’s
studies have not yet found
the right formula for eradicating rough sleeping.
“When I have asked charities what they would like to see
changed, not one group gave the
same answer twice,” he said.
“I know a lot of people end up
on the streets because of relationship breakdown, and on this
basis I think we need to support
the best welfare system there
is in this country – the family.
“This is not an overnight
solution,” he adds. “It may take
an entire generation to get this
message across, but I think it
could make a real difference.”
He also looks to prevention in
three main areas: an increase in
the number of rehabilitation places
so people could gain immediate treatment; a tighter rein on
Britain’s immigration laws; and
better information from prisons
and the armed services on where
people go after serving their time.
“I think some better advice
might actually keep people off
the streets in the first place,”
he said, “and knowing where to
go to make a huge difference
between surviving or not.”
Rebecca Wearn
Alternative housing
Architecture for Humanity seek more than building banks and bistros
“The greatest humanitarian
challenge we face today is that of
providing shelter”. This is the claim
made in the opening paragraph
of a recently-published book,
Design Like You Give a Damn,
compiled by US-based charity
Architecture for Humanity (AFH).
All the projects featured in the
book reveal a movement around
the world, of architects and designers providing housing solutions to
people who have no shelter – from
those hit by natural disasters like
Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans,
to Brazilian slums, to rough sleepers on the streets of New York.
Cameron Sinclair, co-founder
of AFH, believes designers have
the potential to solve the accommodation and poverty crisis that
is affecting the world. He also
believes that by publishing the
book his charity can draw the
world’s eyes to both the increasing
plight of those without permanent accommodation, and the
growing architectural response.
Responses to homelessness
featured before in The Pavement
- such as Ted Hayes’ Dome Village
in downtown Los Angeles (Issue 14),
or Michael Rakowitz’s inflatable
shelter paraSITE (Issue 13)– sit
next to responses to mass housing
problems in the developing world.
This, Mr Sinclair believes, will
be the focus of world politics in the
near future. According to him, one
in seven people around the world
lives in a slum or refugee camp,
and more than three billion people,
nearly half the world’s population, do not have access to clean
water or adequate sanitation.
Architects should be the first
in line to address this crisis, he
believes, especially since some
estimates say that two-thirds of
the cityscapes that will exist by
mid-century have not been built yet.
This was what Mr Sinclair, an
architect trained at the University
of Westminster and University
College London, had in mind when
he co-founded AFH in 1999.
The group has been working
with government bodies and relief
organisations since it was founded,
in the wake of a harsh war that
left Kosovo torn apart in the late
1990s. It was then that Mr Sinclair
realised the potential architects
had in providing aid, by using their
skills to create cheap and high
quality accommodation solutions.
He organised a competition to
find some winning projects that
could house stranded Kosovans
and raised more than $100,000.
The group has come a long
way since then, developing
housing projects from places
like the slums of Calcutta, to
the hurricane-stricken cities of
the US and Central America.
It has won many awards,
including the Index Award to
Improve Life, and Mr Sinclair
himself won the prestigious
Ted Prize award last year.
The group’s active work in
reconstruction, promotion and
fundraising is ongoing, but some
landmark initiatives were kickedoff recently. The organisation
worked with US corporation Sun
Microsystems to create the Open
Architecture Network, which is an
open source system for supporting sustainable and humanitarian
design and architecture. Users of
this free computer-based system,
launched in March last year,
can browse, add, contribute to
a massive network of projects in
sustainable housing, and the service
includes project management, file
sharing, a resource database and
online collaborative design tools.
The launch of the book was
another topical moment for the
development of alternative housing
solutions. It offers a history of the
movement toward socially conscious design. More than 80 projects
that have influenced lives of communities around the world are presented in the book; from a merrygo-round for children in South
Africa that pumps water out of the
ground and stores it into a tower to
sand-filled tube-pods for refugees.
In his blog www.worldchanging.
com, Mr Sinclair, wrote: “Tackling
the issue of how to address urban
homelessness has been a constant
thorn in the side of the design
and construction industry.”
In 2006 he was asked to
co-judge the ‘Shelter in a Cart’ competition. More than 4,200 designers
from 95 countries participated.
The brief was to develop a ‘cart’
system to support those who chose
to stay on the streets, rather than
the housing shelter approach.
Mr Sinclair admits it is a big step
from these kinds of competitions
to providing a lasting solution. “The
competition and these initiatives
are not the answer to issues of
homelessness, but they force the
design community to begin to
ask serious questions,” he says.
However, as the number of
people who are vulnerably housed
is on the up, Mr Sinclair is adamant
on one point. “There should be
a basic rule,” he argues. “If you
cannot design a basic shelter, you
cannot call yourself an architect.”
Carlo Svaluto Moreolo
• See the work of their work at
www.architectureforhumanity.org
Photography by Robert Dalton © 2007
“If you cannot design a
basic shelter, you cannot
call yourself an architect”
News-in-brief
The homeless news from London, the UK and the World
Long live the Silver Lady
– reports of her demise
exaggerated
Outreach contract in City
changes, but won’t affect
those in the area
The famous Silver Lady Fund
van, often known as “The Pie
Man”, is still alive and kicking
and providing food, according to the charity’s trustees.
Readers had contacted The
Pavement to report that the
van, known for its early-morning
distribution of pies, had not been
seen in its usual spot at Royal
Festival Hall on the South Bank.
The charity confirmed the
van was still distributing food,
however, one of the Fund’s
governors said the driver sometimes had difficulty parking in that
area, and could be found along
Southwark Bridge Road instead.
The charity’s history stretches
right back to the 1880s, when it
was founded by Christian Herald
proprietor Reverend Baxter and
his wife. It initially provided food
for the hungry, but its services
gradually extended to distributing
clothing, providing accommodation
for “stranded women and girls” and
launching the All Night Travelling
Café, which still distributes piping
hot pasties, pies and sausage rolls.
Today, as well as distributing
food, the Silver Lady Fund supports
other initiatives, for example
funding the pod temporary housing
units at Lorica St Patrick’s shelter in
Brighton (see issue 12 of The Pavement – www.thepavement.org.uk).
And every Christmas they distribute
packages which include food, a pair
of warm socks… and a silver coin.
St Mungo’s has lost the outreach/CAT worker contract for
the City to Broadway. However,
readers in the City need not
worry about the changes.
Luton Sinfield, of St Mungo’s
community services, told The
Pavement: “St Mungo’s will
no longer be providing street
outreach services in the City of
London after March of this year.
We’re very sorry to no longer be
the contracted provider, but will
continue to work with the City of
London Corporation to develop
new and innovative routes off the
Carinya Sharples
street for those sleeping rough.”
He added: “We’ll also be working
closely with Broadway, the new
provider, to ensure a smooth
transition, so rough sleepers in
the area will not face any further
hardships due to the change in
contractor. We would like to pass
on our thanks to everybody who
has worked alongside us as we have
enabled people to move their lives
on from the streets. We hope that
the success we have had can be
continued and that joint initiatives
will mean that no-one finds themselves sleeping on the streets of the
Square Mile or anywhere else.”
Staff
was a keen supporter and
key help for the hospitality
that the Simon Community
Pat McCann
provided from its comPatrick Donnelly (sometimes munity houses. His gentle
manner and warm infeccalled Pat McCann) sadly
tious smile will in particular
passed away on the 13th
be missed by the many who
December of a massive
heart attack while on a bus. knew him. He had been a
resident with the CommuHe was 68 years old. He
nity for well over 10 years.”
was pronounced dead on
His funeral was held
arrival at the Royal Free
on Friday 11th January at
Hospital. Tim Nicholls, then
Islington Crematorium.
director of the Simon Community, told The Pavement:
“He will have been known to
many on the streets, especially for the help that he
gave to the Simon Community with its early morning
Editor
tea runs. Furthermore, he
Obituary
Three deaths in hostel
Three homeless men died recently
from alcohol- and drug-related
problems in Conway House, one of
Camden’s largest hostels, sparking
concerns among residents and
staff over the lack of resources
for people with drug addictions.
Joao Rodriguez (33), John Andain
(55), who had been living in the
hostel for a year, and Henry
Bodarenko (52) were all reliant
on long-term accommodation
and had high support needs.
“These tragedies have been
very distressing for people who
live at the hostel,” a spokesperson for the hostel owners said.
Redevelopment plans have
been proposed to expand Conway
House further and provide residents
with individual bedrooms, a
refurbished refectory and new
kitchens, but residents are calling
for improved resources to help
people with long-term addiction
problems and to assist the staff
in facing their daily challenges.
The charity had been previously praised for its work and
awarded three green lights by
an independent inspector.
tious of upsetting political backers
or funders to say anything, Mr
Peacock will be missed by many.
He told The Pavement: “I
am sure I will keep in touch, as
I continue to feel passionately
about homelessness in London
and the needs of both the street
homeless and the ‘hidden
homeless’ whose treatment is
a disgrace to our nation.”
Staff
SNaP report uncovers
hostel provision in
England
A report commissioned by the
Department for Communities and
Local Government (DCLG) to help
take the Hostels Capital Improvement Programme to the next level,
is due to be published this month.
The report, ‘Survey of Needs and
Provision’ (SNaP), has been carried
out by research charity Resource
Information Service and by Homeless Link, the national membership organisation for homeless
agencies in England. The organisations joined forces to develop a
new initiative that will map the
services available to homeless single
people and couples in England.
It is hoped the new research
will give service providers, the
government and other interested parties a better idea of the
availability and condition of the
hostel and temporary accommodation sector in England. Currently, the government does not
Clara Denina
An anniversary and a
departure at ASLAN
ASLAN, the All-Souls Local
Area Network, celebrated 20
years of its tea run in January,
at the same time as director
Chris Peacock stepped down.
The organisation has been
providing the tea run (listed on
page 30) for 20 years, and for
the 15 years been lead by Mr
Peacock, who has now been
replaced by Tim Aldeburgh.
Always outspoken where many
organisations would be too cau-
“Waiter, there’s a flyer in my soup”
Jonathan Creek ate my
ear
“Mobile phone’s dead – what idiot put that power in?”
collate statistics on the number
of homeless people in hostels.
Last year, Andrew Slaughter, MP,
asked Yvette Cooper, minister for
housing, how many single people
were in hostel accommodation in
England. She replied that the data
requested was “not held centrally”.
Peter Watson, assistant director
for homelessness at RIS, which
has been producing the London
Hostels Directory for the past 20
years, told The Pavement: “We
were contacted by DCLG because
they were planning Phase Two of
[the Hostels Capital Improvement
Programme], but they wanted some
good data on how many hostels
are there, what sort of condition
they are in, how many have still
got shared rooms and so on.
“As Ms Cooper’s response
indicated, there has not been
robust information on the extent
and nature of accommodation
and hostels for homeless people
across England before. This piece of
research, which we are putting the
final touches to, should hopefully
answer the sorts of things that
people have wanted to know for
many years, like how many services
there are for homeless people, how
many bed spaces, and what types
of accommodation are available.”
Homeless Link’s website explains
the venture’s reasons for carrying out the research: “The lack
of information means that it is
more difficult to argue for funding
allocations for homeless services,
adequately support providers to
develop their services and to showcase the excellent work that goes on
in our sector,” it says. “We want to
change this with a national survey
looking at the provision available.”
The Pavement will be
taking a look at the findings
and talking to the key players
when they’re published.
Carinya Sharples
A homeless man was attacked,
sustaining ear injuries, by
actor Alan Davies outside a
nightclub in the busy streets
of West End in December.
Paul McElfatrick, who makes
his living by entertaining tourists,
was left bleeding after drunken
Mr Davies lashed out at him
for being called by his character’s name, Jonathan Creek.
CCTV footage showed Davies
outside Groucho Club biting Mr
McElfatrick’s ear for 13 seconds
before being pulled away by friends.
The victim, 40, told a local
newspaper: “I thought he was
going to whisper something, but
his face darkened and he almost
spat out the words, ‘My name’s
Alan. You know my name - Alan.
What’s my name? It’s Alan.’ Then
he suddenly went for my left ear.
It was incredibly painful. I shrieked
and my eyes were watering. He
hung on and drew blood.”
The 41-year-old actor admitted to having “a tussle,” but
claimed he was provoked by Mr
McElfatrick. He said he did not
realise the man was homeless and
put his actions down to excessive drinking after delivering the
eulogy at the funeral of Jonathan
Creek producer Verity Lambert.
Theodore Kermeliotis
Scottish housing scandal
The Scottish Government has condemned local authorities following
an investigation by regional paper
Scotland on Sunday, which revealed
that councils were ‘dumping’
homeless people in neighbouring
areas with little or no support.
Six local authorities have
come under fire and are being
held to account over accusations of ‘social cleansing’.
However the councils have
hit back, claiming they were
being forced to look elsewhere
because of a lack of accommodation in their areas.
Communities minister Stewart
Maxwell has written to East
Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire,
Inverclyde, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and Stirling councils asking
for an explanation. A spokesperson
for the government said: “We recognise the practice of out-of-area
placements can be detrimental,
leading to a loss of contact between
the council making the placement
and the household being placed.
“Sometimes the host authority is not aware of the placement, which means they cannot
assess the risk to others within
the same accommodation.
“The letter requests councils
making these out-of-area place-
ments to make clear how they
ensure their staff follows a protocol
with host local authorities.”
The action taken by the councils
contravenes national guidelines,
which state that homeless people
should always be placed in their
own area. However, the very government that has criticised the councils
for this action recently produced
a budget settlement for housing
that, according to Scotland’s major
housing groups, has effectively
cut next year’s affordable housing
budget by six per cent in real terms.
This will fall far short of a
government pledge – to fund a
programme of 30, 000 affordable homes for rent by 2011.
Scottish housing groups issued a
joint statemeny which said: “The
amount announced will go no way
to meeting the 30,000 target. The
announcement is a severe disappointment and is certainly a setback
for Scotland’s ambitious plans to
lead the world in tackling homelessness and in housing the thousands
of people currently on waiting
lists or in temporary accommodation up and down the country.”
In an attempt to address
this issue, Shelter Scotland has
launched a toolkit on community
engagement designed to look
at ways to engage with communities so that conflict can be
avoided or resolved when they are
affected by new developments.
Archie Stoddart, director of
Shelter Scotland, said: “Conflict over
plans for new housing is widespread
across Scotland, and disquiet about
new homelessness accommodation
is simply the sharp end of that.
“This pack has been designed
to build better relationships
right at the start and to ensure
that the accommodation which
is really needed gets built in
the best places possible.”
Mr Stoddard added: “Moving
PCHP
Primary Care for
Homeless People
We work with homeless people who are staying in the Camden and Islington
area and do not have a local GP
We provide:
•
General health care
•
Hepatitis and HIV screening
•
Alcohol and drug advice and treatment
•
Benefits and Housing advice
When registered, you will have 24 hour access to healthcare
We provide walk-in sessions at:
Spectrum Day Centre, 6-8 Greenland Street, Camden Town, NW1
Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri: 9.30am – 12noon; Wed: 1.30 – 3.30pm
Kings Cross Primary Care Centre, 264 Pentonville Road, N1
Mon: 6.30 – 9.30pm; Tue: 2 – 4pm; Fri: 1.30 – 3.30pm
No Appointment Necessary
For further information, call 020 7685 5920
people away from their support
networks – like family or friends,
or from their children’s schools
– should be avoided at all costs.
“Out-of-area placements are
often a symptom of the fact local
authorities do not have anywhere
to house people who have become
homeless, either temporarily
or into permanent housing
“In November, the finance
secretary John Swinney delivered
his first budget to Parliament,
which outlined spending priorities for the next three years. It did
not find the money to meet the
housing lobby’s call for 30,000
affordable rented homes.”
Although the situation seems
desperate, Mr Stoddard is determined to keep the homeless issue
at the forefront of the political
agenda in Scotland: “[Shelter
Scotland’s] first priority of 2008 will
be to continue to keep the pressure
on politicians of all parties to push
for an increase in the amount of
money allocated to affordable
homes for rent,” he added.
“Housing needs will not stand
still and we have an internationally
acclaimed homelessness target
to meet in 2012. Scotland must
start to look at ways to provide
more affordable rented homes
from the budget available, for
example through the planning
system, or the private sector.”
Amanda Palmer
Camden street count
Street Services in Camden carried
out a count in the first week of
December to gather data for the
internal use of its staff, and found
19 people sleeping rough on the
streets of the borough. The council
was unpleasantly surprised at
the findings, as they highlighted
an in increase in the number of
rough sleepers in the borough.
A spokesperson for the council
said: “Although the number is still
below government targets, it is
higher than would be expected.
There is concern as to the reasons
for the increase, but the council’s
outreach staff keeps working
to help people off the streets
and into its support services.”
The street count was of a ‘preliminary’ nature, and it is believed
people sleeping in car parks were
not included. The figures from
Camden revealed the number of
people sleeping on the streets of
London and the UK may be on
the rise, despite the government’s
effort to tackle homelessness.
Another major London council,
Westminster, admitted deep disappointment with the findings of its
own street count in September,
which found 105 people living on
the streets, plus 15 ‘A10s’ (nationals of the 10 EU Accession States).
Paris Deaths
Two rough sleepers died in
Paris this winter, reigniting the
summer controversy over the
vast numbers of people living
in the city without housing.
The two men, found at different locations and on different
days, were both in their sixties.
One, who was found on the Place
de la Concorde in central Paris,
was discovered with no blankets
or shelter. The other, a 62-yearold, had been living in his car in
a concrete garage for several
months after splitting up with his
wife. He was said to have refused
all attempts to re-house him.
Paris saw a bitter winter
this year, with temperatures falling below zero over
the Christmas season.
Criticism of the French government’s handling of the number of
vulnerably housed has been mounting since August, when protest
group Les Enfants de Don Quichotte
led a tent sit-in along the Seine.
France is estimated to be home to
around 200,000 rough sleepers.
Pressure group Les Morts de
la Rue (The Dead on the Street)
claimed at least 200 people had
died prematurely while sleeping
rough in France in the past 12
months, and that street deaths were
almost a daily occurrence in France.
Catherine Neilan
Camden ASBO central?
Rumours are circulating that
Camden might start giving
anti-social behaviour orders to
rough sleepers, in a drastic bid
to move them out of the area.
There are fears that the move
might be a bid to reduce rough
sleeper numbers to previous
levels; the local council registered
as few as six people sleeping
rough in the borough at one
of its latest officials count.
In July, The Pavement reported
that the council’s former head of
street population services, Tom
Preest, had been appointed ‘head
of anti-social behaviour and street
population services’. The job
title suggested the idea of street
activity and anti-social behaviour,
but Mr Preest assured The Pavement that ASBOs would not be
used to target homeless people.
Tory MP sleeps out
A Tory MP slept out in Victoria on Christmas Eve. Housing
spokesman Grant Shapps said
he awoke to the sound of heavy
rain on his sleeping bag.
Talking to The Pavement, he
said: “It’s not a [publicity] stunt
and here is why: I have spent this
year publishing what I hope have
been authoritative reports into the
issues surrounding homelessness
and have taken the time to visit
both homeless and rough sleepers.
“As a society we can either
think that homelessness is
acceptable and ignore it or try to
do something about it. I believe
that politicians should actively
engage and care about what
happens to people and by sleeping out I hope that I will help to
focus attention on the subject.
Staff
• Read the interview with
Grant Shapps MP on page 6
The Homeless World Cup
2008
Footballers who have recently
experienced homelessness are
being sought nationwide for The
Homeless World Cup 2008.
Trials for the England team
commenced on 8th January at
Bristol City Football Club and will
conclude at Manchester United Cliff
Training Ground on 5th March.
The final eight selected
will travel to Melbourne, Australia, in November to compete
in the international football
tournament. The Big Issue in
Manchester, with support from
Manchester United, will be
managing the England squad.
Richard Brown, England team
manager, said: “It is a chance to
meet other people from across the
country, take part in physical activity, and it is the first step towards
being part of the England team.”
Former team members
have progressed to other football clubs, coaching courses
and full-time employment.
Organisers aim to top the 300
people who turned up at Manchester United’s training grounds to
tryout for the 2007 World Cup by
having open trials in various regions.
The Homeless World Cup is an
annual international football tournament that was set up in 2002 by
Mel Young, co-founder of The Big
Issue Scotland, and Herald Schmied,
editor of Austrian street paper
Megaphon. Supporters include
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and United Nations.
Naomi Osinnowo
• For more information about
the Homeless World Cup contact:
Kat Byles, Homeless World Cup
on [email protected]
Director leaves Simon
Community
“Oi, are you looking at my birdie?”
Tim Nicholls, director of the Simon
Community, left the organization on 11th January. Prior to his
leaving, he told The Pavement:
“I will taking a short sabbatical.
Following this I will be working
on a range of projects to support
homelessness and Church
social action organisations.”
Asked about his time with the
Community, and reasons for his
departure, he said: “I have had an
eventful and challenging two years
with the Simon Community. The
increasing financial pressures on
the Community and the struggle to raise funds without going
for government contracts has
made it difficult for the trustees to
Disability or health related problem holding
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justify the central costs involved in
operating the charity. As a result
I have offered my resignation in
the hope of allowing the Community the chance for breathing
space financially to help it resolve
its future direction, and to ensure
that the frontline outreach services
are able to be resourced.”
A community manager,
Sarah Jeffery, will be starting
in the near future and some
of his role and responsibilities
will be transferred to her.
Staff
Homeless radio
A new radio show produced and
presented entirely by homeless people has been created in
Cambridge using funding made
available by the local council.
Seven homeless volunteers
broadcast a magazine-style onehour programme on alternate
Tuesdays at 2pm on 105FM for
Cambridge or www.209radio.co.uk.
The team has been trained
and helped by Kirsten Lavers,
editor of Willow Walker, and
station manager Karl Hartland,
who used the Kick Start funding
of the Cambridge City Council for
meaningful occupation projects.
“The project was set up with
the help of Kick Start funding
which has just run out, so we are
desperately searching for more
funding to continue this successful project,” Ms Lavers said.
“We have new people who
want to join the team and need to
receive training and the existing
team want new members so that
we can extend the programme
to weekly rather fortnightly as
it is currently,” she added.
Ms Lavers said she was hoping
to receive a second round of
funding and wishes that the
original members will continue
their involvement as mentors to
other homeless volunteers who
have already expressed an interest
in joining the training course.
The organisers added they
would be keen to share the model
with other community radio stations and homeless projects.
Clara Denina
Soup Run Forum
The next Soup Run Forum will
be held on 4th March, at St
Vincent’s Centre, Victoria.
Staff
• Visit the Forum’s message
board at www.souprunforum.org.uk
Readersh
The Pavement is asking its read
doing, and what we should be doin
please help, by going online, even i
and record what you think of
Once you’re o
Step 1. Go to www.thepavement.org
Step 2. Click on the link to the “short,
Step 3. Fill out the questions, giving as
If you need help, ask someone t
be assured you can be anony
hip survey
dership to let us know how we’re
ng in future, via an online survey. So
if you don’t usually use computers,
f the magazine and website.
online, it’s easy:
g.uk
easy reader survey”
s much detail as possible
to guide you to the website, and
ymous filling out the survey.
Dear Flo
The Pavement’s nurse on – your medical records
Recently I had to visit my doc and
found being on “the other side
of the fence” stressful. Watching
her tap away on the computer,
entering information as I spoke, but
not knowing what she was writing
about me and my symptoms made
me feel detached from the process
and also curious. I wondered why
so few people come to our practice
and ask to see their medical records.
It is well known that doctors’
handwriting is abysmal. Do they
learn it as part of their medical
training? I’ve always been
curious as to why it is so bad: is
it a result of studying into the
wee hours or of endlessly writing
up patients’ notes? My personal
belief is that it hides the misspellings of those diseases with Latin
names and too many syllables,
for example thrombocytopænia.
If the writing is difficult for a colleague to read, how can a patient
plough through not only the scrawl,
but also the jargon and acronyms.
(Try: “You’ve suffered a contusion
to the soft tissue below the fourth
thoracic vertebra exacerbating the
proximal sternum.” Translation:
“you have a bruised rib.”) And let’s
not forget the encrypted messages
in their notes. My grandfather, a
GP in the days of old, used to write
“AOT” on the prescription pad,
and the local chemist dutifully prescribed “Any Old Thing,” though I
doubt the wider medical profession
advocated such use of placebos.
Though complicated language adds
clarity to the trained reader and the
abbreviations save time, the patient
may feel swamped in techno-speak.
However, now that notes have
been computerised, as they have at
my doctor’s surgery, and there have
been recommendations to minimise
jargon, no one should be deterred
from accessing their medical
records. Indeed, under the Data
Protection Act of 1988, you have a
legal right to read your own notes
without giving any reason. Like me,
you may be simply curious or you
may want to re-examine an illness
episode when you are feeling better.
Some people have approached our
practice manager asking to see their
notes as they want to verify their
own story, to clarify how health
professionals treated their medical
condition, or because they couldn’t
remember particular incidents.
If you are interested in having
a poke through your records, you
may need to make a written request
to the relevant hospital trust, or
practice manager – just ask for
the relevant person at reception.
You should always hear back from
the records manager within six
weeks and you may be asked to
cover any photocopying charges.
It’s worth bearing in mind that if
you have been attending homeless
health services in different cities,
or even within the same city but
under different health authorities,
your records may hold information
only about the visits you made
there and may contain no details
from previous illness episodes.
Old records can usually be traced
so long as you provide accurate
addresses and aliases used, but
of course this may take a while.
So, remember that you have
a right to apply for access to
records, irrespective of when they
were compiled: you just need to
ask. And if they don’t make any
sense, you can ask for someone to
make decipher them. Good luck.
& Good Health,
Flo
“It’s the people’s waste of time and money”
Foot Care
It’s still cold, so Toe Slayer talk socks
Prime Minister Gordon Brown
must know something about
feet and foot comfort because
he invests in warm, long socks,
especially in the colder months.
Overexposure to low temperatures, wind and rain can cause
hypothermia and frostbite. The
body needs to be warm to function,
and a critical drop in body temperature causes symptoms including a
change in mental status, sometimes
called “the mumbles and grumbles”.
The brain also sends signals to the
muscles to contract, which causes
friction between the muscle cells
or uncontrollable shivering. If
the situation does not improve,
doing simple tasks becomes a
problem and walking more difficult,
with unsteadiness and falling
common. The “fumble, stumble,
and tumble” of early hypothermia
is often accompanied by a desire
to sleep. More severe hypothermia
produces rigid muscles, dark and
puffy skin, irregular heart and
breathing rates and, eventually,
unconsciousness. When breathing slows down, the heart pumps
less blood through the system.
Hands and feet feel cold and often
painful, and in severe cold, the tips
of the fingers and toes can become
frostbitten. In mild cases, numb
patches of white or greyish-yellow
appear, and the underlying tissue
remains soft and pliable. Blisters
may also appear. Severe repeated
exposure can lead to gangrene.
The most effective way to
prevent hypothermia is to keep
warm and dry. Wet clothing loses
90% of its insulating properties, so
wearing wet clothes in cold weather
causes greater heat loss. It is very
important to keep dry clothes
next to the skin. Air conducts heat
badly, so the more air is trapped
in clothing, the better the body
is protected from the outside
cold. Air is an efficient insulation
material, and to trap air you should
wear three layers of clothing.
Clothes closest to the skin should
fit neatly and be kept dry. Wool is
the oldest and best insulating material for cold weather clothing, so
woollen undies and socks are good.
Manmade fabrics have largely
replaced all-wool products, but
underwear made from polyester has
added properties which keep the
skin cool and dry, and fleece-lined
shoes, gloves and hats have the
added bonus of keeping their insu-
lation properties even when wet.
Middle-layer clothing like body
warmers made from matt and
fleece are lightweight, durable, and
fast-drying. Clothing containing
duck feathers is comfortable in
dry, cold weather, but less effective
in the wet. Middle layer clothing
should be worn slightly bigger to
trap air and allow sweat to travel
through to the outer layers so you
don’t end up with wet clothes.
Outer clothing should be
water-repellent and windproof to
protect the insulating qualities of
the underlying clothing. Many good
quality jackets are made from ure-
thane-coated materials which have
small pores close enough together
to resist penetration by rain, but
large enough for most water
vapour to pass through. Dressing in
layers helps you adapt to sudden
changes in temperature, and you
can always loosen your outer layers
if you find you are overheating.
To prevent heat loss from the
head, wear a snug beanie made of
wool or polypropylene and protect
your ears with ear mufflers or a
hat with earflaps. Balaclavas that
cover the neck and lower face are
also desirable for severe conditions.
Alternatively, wear a woollen scarf
to keep your neck warm and warm
the air going into your lungs. Hoods
rarely protect against the wind but
the combination of hood and insulating beanie works well. Mittens are
better than gloves, but fleecy lined
gloves are good too – the important
thing is to keep your wrists warm.
Wear two pairs of good fitting
socks to trap air – the inner one
needs to be thinner and made
from cotton-like material to wick
perspiration, and new sock materials with antimicrobial properties
can prevent smelly feet. The over
sock should be thicker and come at
least halfway up the calf. Always
check to make sure they are not
restricting the circulation by being
too tight. Regularly wash the inner
socks in cool water with a powdered
detergent before popping them
into a dryer for a couple of minutes.
It’s a good idea to carry an extra
dry pair of inner socks to change if
your feet get wet. Well-fitting shoes
or boots should protect against the
cold and wet, but check them for
leaks. Rubber boots like Wellingtons
prevent sweat from evaporating, so
only wear them for short periods,
and always change your socks
to keep the feet dry. Never sleep
in wet socks. To avoid hypothermia and frostbite in the colder
months, it’s also important to eat
a well-balanced diet and maintain fluid levels by drinking plenty
warm, non-alcoholic, caffeine-free
liquids. Never ignore cold feet and
if the symptoms persist, see your
health professional for advice.
Toeslayer
Shoe-historian and podiatrist
Neil Stott
Age at disappearance: 44
Neil has been missing from
Romford, Essex, since 27th
October 2007. His current
whereabouts are unknown.
There is great concern for
him and he is urged to
contact the confidential
service Message Home on
Freefone 0800 700 740
for advice and support.
Neil is 5ft 9in tall, of
medium build, with cropped
dark brown hair and blue
eyes. He may now be
clean shaven. When last
seen Neil was wearing a
black T-shirt and jeans.
If you have seen Neil,
please call the 24-hour
confidential charity Missing
People on Freefone 0500
700 700 or email:
seensomeone@
missingpeople.org.uk
“Let’s play hide-and-seek professional help”
Ask Agnes
Answering your worries and questions, whatever they are
Dearest Agnes,
My girlfriend and I have been
together for a while and now she
wants to have a baby. I feel excited
about having a family with her,
but I have big fears about being
a father. My own Dad beat me up
badly and I was in foster care all my
life. I feel like I won’t know what
to do when the baby comes. And
what if I turn out just like my Dad?
Stephen, 23
London
Dear Stephen,
In your letter you did not say where
you currently sleep. However, if you
are on the street, you might like
to consider finding an alternative
bedding-down place before your
girlfriend’s morning sickness and
mood swings kick in. And, if you are
wondering why my speculating on
your lifestyle has anything to do
with fatherhood, bear with me….
For those living on the street,
I believe it’s pretty common
knowledge that getting pregnant
will guarantee you a place to live,
pronto. It is, in fact, illegal to raise
a child on the streets. So, although
your girlfriend will get housing
if she is pregnant, this is unlikely
to equate to having a ‘home’.
You will most likely find yourself
plonked in a tiny room, miles out of
the West End, with a multitude of
noisy neighbours. After the relative
freedom of street sleeping, this is
likely to be a claustrophobic and
isolating shock. Consider the above
and if possible, find somewhere you
and your girlfriend feel comfortable living before you take the
plunge into becoming a family.
Now, getting back to your
dilemma. What can Agnes say
about fatherhood? One thing that
I’m sure you have heard before is
that you never know how you are
going to feel until your child is out,
breathing and howling in plain air.
A cataclysmic, life-changing surge
of love and protectiveness is the
norm at this point, but of course
this love won’t necessarily cancel
out all of the behaviours you learnt
from living with your own father.
As I see it, you need to un-learn
the example set by your Dad and
then start from scratch, filling that
new brain space with positive and
healthy examples of parenting. If
you have not already faced some
of the more painful issues accrued
from having an abusive parent, then
now would be a good time to start.
Counselling is an obvious way to
get the ball rolling, but if that’s not
your bag, there are plenty of other
possibilities for self-exploration
such as writing your experiences
down or talking things through
with a sympathetic family member.
The process may be a struggle
and it may take up a big portion
of your time and energy. On the
plus side, you could walk into
parenthood having dropped some
of the baggage which is holding
you back now. I imagine that
would be an unbeatable feeling.
To my mind, the fieldwork
involved in learning what it means
to be a good parent could be the
fun part, or at least enlightening. Sitting on a park bench and
observing how parents interact
with and touch their own children
might teach you a great deal. The
best-case scenario is that you may
find you already have opinions
on what good parenting is as you
watch other people. Reading books
on parenting skills in your local
library and talking to anyone you
can about what it means to care
for a child should give you more
concrete information and, no
doubt, an awful lot to think about.
While you wait for your baby to
arrive, should you still feel like going
ahead after all the soul-searching,
you could make a big effort to share
information with your girlfriend
about what you each expect the
experience of becoming and being a
parent to be like. I’m not just talking
about the baby experience here:
think troublesome toddlers and
angry adolescents to get a fuller
picture! You will probably find that
a strong relationship with your girlfriend is the most important factor
in the long-term well being of your
child, and your own happiness too.
Agnes
[email protected]
•
If you’ve a question,
conundrum or query for Agnes,
please write to her at the address
on page 3, or e-mail her at the address above. Anonymity given to all
correspondence, unless requested
otherwise.
Letters
Reader’s letters, with responses to articles and questions
Crisis critique
Dear Editor,
Being a rough sleeper, I have
attended several Crisis Open
Christmases (COC) over the
years, but last year (2007), it
seemed that rough sleepers
were not really treated fairly.
According to the pamphlets
issued by Crisis, priority would to
be given to rough sleepers, but that
did not happen. Some colleagues
and I went to the City Road shelter
at 2:15 pm on Sunday 23rd, the
opening day, to get a referral to the
Temple shelter at Maltravers Street.
Getting the referral was simple
enough, but we had to wait several
hours before one of the Crisis buses
took us there. Seven minibuses were
waiting outside the main centre at
6:00pm and had been for over an
hour, yet no apparent attempt was
made to coordinate the people who
wanted to go to the various referral
shelters with the transport waiting
to take them there. This was very
frustrating for us and for the drivers.
On finally arriving at the Temple,
we were told the shelter was full:
how could that happen when it
was meant to be by referral only?
One of the Green Badges
[volunteers] told us that Westminster City Council had put a limit
on the numbers allowed into the
site. Many of us were turned away
and told to try another shelter
(which, again, highlights the
mockery of the referral system) or
told to wait and see if any vacancies arose at the Temple site.
It seems that despite Crisis’s
claims that there only one walk-in
shelter, the Temple site was also a
walk-in centre. It quickly became
full of the non-street homeless.
I eventually got access,
but many of my colleagues
– who were, by now, disgusted
by the day’s events – didn’t
bothered to return to COC.
Fortunately, the Connection
at St Martin’s offered limited
services to rough sleepers over
the Christmas period, and we had
somewhere to go for hot food and
showers. Well done, St Martin’s!
Many rough sleepers were
deterred by having their bags
searched each time they arrived
at the COC Temple site. Many of
us prefer to return to the streets at
night because we do not like the
dormitory-style sleeping arrangements at Crisis. On returning to the
site on the following morning(s),
we were again subjected to bag
searches. I understand the need for
security, but this was very annoying. It proved too much hassle for
some rough sleepers who simply
walked away. Surely Crisis realises
that many rough sleepers carry a
lot of luggage? Why couldn’t Crisis
open a left-luggage store outside
the main arena so that luggage
could go directly into storage
without the need for extensive
searches. Anyone wanting to
take their luggage into the main
building could then be expected
to undergo a thorough search.
I am grateful for the overall
Crisis Open Christmas event, and I
appreciate that financial restraints
and site availability determine
much of the COC activity. But
the decline in services provided
over recent years is becoming
increasingly noticeable to the
users and to the volunteers who
have done previous years. Many
volunteers spent last year sitting
in empty corridors doing nothing
more than watch fire doors.
On the subject of fire regulations, the alarms at the Temple site
sounded on numerous occasions,
but the building was evacuated only
once. This must surely be a matter
of concern for the organisers of last
year’s event. It was for me, and
despite the confusion caused by
the Green Badges giving contradictory instructions to the guests
on hearing the alarm, I vacated
the premises on each occasion.
Crisis Open Christmas is a charitable event, but maybe a fundamental rethink would be in order for
next Christmas to establish exactly
who the event is primarily for. More
consideration for the rough sleepers
who don’t have the luxury of a ‘
freedom pass ‘ and who travel to
the venue on foot would help. And
bear in mind that most rough sleepers carry personal luggage and do
not want it laid bare for all to see.
‘Outsider’
Full name provided
Dear Outsider,
We’ll put you letter to the organizers of Crisis Open Christmas,
and ask them to comment on
some of your criticisms.
Editor
Hospital discharge
Dear Editor,
My beautiful daughter died in
January 2006. She was discharged
from hospital with multiple illnesses.
I tried to stop the discharge, but
the hospital still went ahead. Sadly,
my daughter due to her medical
conditions died shortly after.
She was a homeless drug addict,
discharged without anywhere to
go in winter. My official complaint to the hospital has led to
a two-year battle to try and get
justice not only for my daughter,
but for homeless people who
might have to endure the same
or similar inhumane treatment.
If you know of any organisation
that is involved in a similar situation
or is struggling to get the voices of
the homeless heard, I would appreciate it if you would let me know?
Lisa
Full name provided
Dear Lisa,
A document called “Hospital Admission and Discharge: People who
are homeless or living in temporary
or insecure accommodation” was
published in December 2006 by the
Department of Communities and
Local Government, the Department of Health and Homeless
Link (we’ll put a link to it on the
website – www.thepavement.org.
uk). It contains guidelines for the
discharge of homeless patients,
to avoid what happened to your
daughter happening to others, but
they are just that – guidelines.
We’ll pass on your letter to
the relevant organizations for
comment, and we’ll also look at
how it has to been implemented
in a future The Pavement.
Editor
Vital soup runs
Dear Editor,
I vividly remember landing quite
hard in London – broke, addicted,
alone, hungry and trying to stave
off a gnawing sense of hopelessness. During the bus ride from
Berlin, I floated alongside my castlein-the-sky aspirations of renewal,
discovery and the blissful future
tense of finding the ‘great right
way’ in this strange and exciting
capital city. However, the reality of
my raging drug addiction – buttressed with pangs of loneliness
and emotional upheaval – spoke
louder than any thoughts or words.
And the mirror of keeping-it-real
earnestly reflected that I came to
this city to run away from myself.
When I got off the bus at
Victoria Station, I had no winter
jacket. Within an hour, the chilling
London winds got the best of me;
hope and aspirations vanished as
the razor-sharp edge of the elements began to close in. Though I
was still under the thrall of heroin
and crack cocaine, I could not
contain the painful emotions that
welled up inside. I ran behind an
alley and cried out to God. Shortly
afterwards, I searched high and low
for a mission or crisis hostel that
would provide shelter for the night.
After knocking on several doors
and trying to decipher some babble
talk about benefits, boroughs and
hotlines, I sullenly went to Heathrow Airport, Terminal 4, and slept.
Now, two-and-a-half years later,
I am clean and sober, through the
help of God and significant others.
I am living in my own flat and
slowly convalescing from the sideeffects of six months of Interferon
therapy for my Hepatitis C, which
unfortunately I didn’t respond to.
Yet, there is something that
moves inside me that is hard to
express in words, but I will try.
During this past holiday season,
I took a long walk down Memory
Lane through my tortured years of
drug addiction, periods of homelessness, rough sleeping, mental
hospitals, institutions and prisons.
As I began to juxtapose those
memories with where I am at today
(clean and sober), my heart became
full and my soul bore witness to
the words of Martin Luther King
and his mountaintop experience.
Today, I am a living testament
who dwells in the Promised Land.
I wrote this letter because of
your article on the debate over soup
runs in London. I want to thank all
the organisations and volunteers
who are actively involved in soup
runs throughout London. When I
was hungry, you fed me; and when
I was naked, you clothed me with
your unspoken compassion. In my
hour of despair, you touched me.
You did not in any way enable me
to stay on the streets, but rather
gave sustenance and light in a
time of need. I am also grateful
to Marylebone Rolling Shelter,
Jesus Army and St Mungo’s, whose
invaluable assistance helped me to
establish a sure-footed foundation from which to find my feet.
Rudi Richardson
Dear Rudi,
Thank you for your letter.
We’ve passed a copy to the
Soup Run Forum so your thanks
can reach the right people.
Editor
What to do if you’re gay
and homeless?
Dear Editor,
Can you feature in forthcoming
editions about meeting up with gay
men who are homeless? I’d like to
know where to meet like-minded
people – London is a lonely place if
you are somewhat “isolated from
your community”. Thank you.
Guy
a gay homeless man in London
Dear Guy,
We’ll look into homeless gay
groups and get back to you next
issue, probably adding what we
find, if anything, to The List.
Editor
West London Churches Winter
Shelter
Various Venues
0207 351 4948
12 Nov–21 Mar 08 8pm–7am.:
last admission 8pm
16+ mixed; Beds for 35 (separate
area for women); self-referrals, must
phone first; dry
SPECIALIST SERVICES
Quaker Mobile Library
Every second Mon: St John’s,
Waterloo; Webber St (behind the
Old Vic); and The Manna Centre.
Every Sat morning: The
Passage and St Martin’s; P
TELEPHONE SERVICES
Benefits Agency (JCP)
To make a claim
0800 055 6688
For queries about existing claims
for Income Support, Jobseekers
Allowance or Incapacity Benefit
0845 377 6001 For Social Fund enquiries
0845 608 8661 For the Pensions Service
0845 60 60 265
Domestic Violence Helpline
0808 2000 247
Stockists:
Ace of Clubs Day Centre
American Church
ASLAN
Borderline
Bridge Resource Centre
Broadway Day Centre
Cardinal Hume Centre
The Caravan Drop-In &
Counselling Service
Chelsea Methodist Church
Choral Hall Lifeskills Centre
CSTM
Crisis Skylight
Church Army (Women’s
Day Centre)
Endsleigh Gardens Hostel
Ex Service Fellowship Centre
UK Human Trafficking Centre
0114 252 3891
Frank
0800 776 600
Free 24-hr drug helpline
Shelter
0808 800 4444
Housing info and advice
8am–12am daily
Eaves
020 7735 2062
Helps victims of trafficking for prostitution
Get Connected
0808 808 4994
Free advice for young people
(1pm–7pm daily)
London Street Rescue
0870 383 3333
Rough sleeper’s hot-line
Message Home Helpline
0800 700 740, 24 hrs daily
National Debtline
0808 808 4000
Poppy
020 7840 7141
Helps women who have been
trafficked for sexual exploitation
Runaway Helpline
0808 800 7070
Free line for under-18s
who have left home
The Samaritans
08457 90 9090
Great Chapel Street
Medical Centre
Holy Cross Centre
Housing Justice/UNLEASH
Job Centre Plus – Brixton,
London Bridge, Peckham
King George’s Hostel
King’s Cross Primary Care Centre
Look Ahead Hostel (Victoria)
Manna Day Centre
Mount Pleasant Hostel
North London Action
for the Homeless
Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church
The Passage
Providence Row (Dellow Centre)
Quaker Mobile Library
Rochester Row Day Centre
WEBSITES
Homeless London Directory (RIS)
Updated at least annually
www.homelesslondon.org
Mental Fight Club
A creative/arts site for those
with mental illness.
uk.geocities.com/[email protected]/
or google ‘Mental Fight Club’
The Pavement Online
Regularly updated online
version of ‘The List’
www.thepavement.org.uk/
of ‘The List’ which will soon
be in several translations to
download. The site also has
details of the news-posters.
www.thepavement.org.uk/
services.htm
Proud to be mad
A campaigning site for those
with mental illness
www.proudtobemad.co.uk
ScotsCare
Simon Community
Soho Rapid Access Clinic (SRAC)
Spectrum Day Centre
Spires Centre
Spitalfields Crypt Trust
St Cuthbert’s Centre
St Giles Trust
St Matthew’s, Fulham
St Stephen’s Church
Turning Point (Hungerford Drug Project)
Two Step, Angel
Union Chapel
Webber Street
Wedge House
West London Day Centre
Westminster Libraries
Whitechapel Mission
SEASONAL SHELTERS
999 Club (Lambeth & Lewisham)
21 Deptford Broadway, SE8 4PA
07 Jan–16 Mar 08; Beds for
15 people; Referral only, from
999 Club (during day); Dry
Camden and City Churches Cold
Weather Shelter (C4WS)
Various Churches
07515 507970
01 Jan –31 Mar 07: 7.30pm–
8.45am; Age 18+ mixed; Beds for 14
(separate area for women); Dry
Local referral only, details of which
can be found on 07515 507970
Caris Islington Churches Cold
Weather Shelters
Various Venues
07960 491151
01 Jan–31 Mar 08; 7.30pm–
8.30am. Arrive before 8.30pm
Age 18+ mixed; Beds for
15 (separate area for
women); Self- or agency
referrals; phone ahead; dry
Croydon Churches Floating
Shelter
Various Churches
70a Wellesley Road,
Croydon CR0 2AR
020 8774 9872 (office)
07860 270 278 (out of hours)
Mobile switched off if no vacancies
01 Nov–31 Mar 08; 7.30pm–8am.
Last admission 9pm
Age 18+ mixed; Beds for 14
Local referral only; dry
Finchley Churches Winter Shelter
Various Venues
020 8446 8400
01 Dec–31 Mar 08
8pm–8am. Last admission 10pm
Referral from Homeless Action in
Barnet; dry
Hackney Winter Night Shelter
Various Churches
07962 447 373 (mobile on 5–8pm
Sun and 7-8.30pm Mon–Sat)
01 Jan–31 Mar 08; 8pm–8am
Self- or agency referrals. 1st come 1st
served; dry
Harrow Winter Shelter
is not opening this year
Hillingdon (Men-only)
07 Jan–17 Feb; you must have
a local connection to Hillingdon.
Referrals are only accepted via
Hillingdon’s Housing Advice Centre
Robes Project (Southwark &
Lambeth)
Seven venues
020 7403 1931
Jan–Mar 08: 7.30pm–7.30am
15 beds; All referral from Manna
Centre – 020 7407 2014
www.robes.org.uk; Dry
Waltham Forest Churches Winter
Shelter
0208 509 4687 (Day centre)
0208 509 4674 (Night shelter)
www.wfcns.org.uk
“Pardon me, boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo”
there’s food left. The latter from
Monday to Saturday all year round:
Kentish Town (Islip Road); 12pm:
Camden (Arlington Road); 1pm:
King’s Cross (York Way) 2.15pm.
Harlow Chocolate Run
This run is from Harlow, and
serves hot chocolate! Coming
out on the Second Tuesday
of the month. Behind the
Army and Navy in Victoria.
House of Bread – The Vision
Second and fourth Sunday in the
month (6.45am onwards) – Hot
food; note that an excellent full
cooked breakfast is served on the
fourth Sunday. On the Strand
(Charing Cross end, outside Coutt’s).
Imperial College
Serving sandwiches and hot
beverages on Sunday evenings
(8–9.30pm) at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
Lincoln’s Inn Fields
Mon–Fri: 7.15pm; Many vans with
food and occasionally clothing.
Sat –Sun: 6.15pm onwards.
The London Run
Mondays (including bank holidays).
Van with tea/coffee, sandwiches,
eggs, biscuits, soft drinks, clothes,
and toiletries: 8.45–9.30am; The
Strand, opposite Charing Cross
police station: 9.30pm–10.15pm;
Temple: 10.15pm–11.00pm;
Waterloo (St John’s Church).
Memorial Baptist Church Plaistow
389 –395 Barking Road, E13 8AL
020 7476 4133
Sat: 8am–12pm
Full English breakfast
Muswell Hill Churches Soup
Kitchen
Muswell Hill Baptish Church,
2 Dukes Ave, N10 2PT
020 8883 8520
Sun–Thurs; 7.45am–8.45pm
New Life Assembly
A run in Hendon, that comes into
the West End once a month.
Open Door Meal
St James the Less parish centre,
Vauxhall Bridge Road, behind the
Lord High Admiral public house.
An established service, providing a
two-course hot meal served at table.
Alternate Thursdays during
term-time; 7-9.30 pm.
B, CL, FF
Our Lady of Hal
165 Arlington Rd, NW1
020 7485 2727
Tues, Weds, Fri & Sat:
12.45pm–2pm
Peter’s Community Café
The Crypt, St. Peter’s Church,
De Beauvoir Road, N1
020 7249 0041
Mon–Wed: 12noon–7pm
Rice Run
The Strand, Westminster
Fri : 9–10pm
Rice and Chicken, or savoury rice
The Sacred Heart
This run from Wimbledon has
several teams coming up once a
month to the Piazza of Westminster Cathedral. Sandwiches and
hot beverages around 9.30pm
every Tuesday and Friday.
Sai Baba
Third Sunday of the Month: 93
Guildford Street, WC1 (Coram’s
Fields); 11am–1pm. Vegetarian
meal and tea. Another branch
of this sect also have a service at
Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Wednesday,
around 8pm– a great curry!
Salvation Army (King’s Cross)
Faith Hse, 11 Argyle St, WC1
020 7837 5149
Mon: 5.30pm–7pm (men-only
drop-in); Tues–Fri: 2pm–3pm
(women-only drop-in);
Weds: 7.45pm–9pm (open dropin); Thurs: 12.30pm (hot meal)
Samaritan Network
Every Sunday, 6–8pm, at the
corner of Temple Station.
www.smouk.org
Silver Lady Fund (The Pie Man)
Piping hot pasties, pies and
sausage rolls from the van down
behind the Festival Hall early
mornings (it’s white with ‘Silver
Lady Fund’ written on the side).
Simon Community
Tea Run: Sun & Mon (6–9.30am):
Islington – St Mary’s Church 6am;
Euston – St Pancras Church 6.10;
Hinde Street 6.30; Milford Lane
6.45; Strand 7.05; Southampton
Road 7.30; Victoria Street; Victoria
– Buckingham Gate (Sun only);
Victoria – behind Sainsbury’s (Sun
only); Victoria – Army & Navy
8.15 (Sun) 8 (Mon); Grosvenor
Gardens (Sun only); Marble Arch
8.30 (Sun) 8.20 (Mon); Waterloo
Bridge 9.00 (Sun) 8.50 (Mon).
Soup Run: Wed & Thurs (8pm–
10.30pm): Euston – St Pancras
Church 8pm; Hinde Street 8.30pm;
Maltravers Street 8.50pm; Waterloo – behind NT 9.10pm; Victoria
Street 9.30p,; Victoria –
Buckingham Gate 9.45pm; Victoria
– back of Sainsburys 10pm;
Victoria – Army & Navy 10.10pm
Street Café: St Mary-Le-Strand
(Strand) – Mon (5pm–7pm) &
Wed (10am–12.00pm), and St
Giles-in-the-Fields, St Giles High
Street, WC2 (next to Denmark
Street) – Sat (2 – 4pm), P
St Andrew’s Church
10 St Andrew’s Road
Fulham, W14 9SX
Sat: 12noon-2pm
Hot food and sandwiches
• This is a new service,
opening this month
St John’s Ealing
Mattock Lane, West Ealing
W13 9LA
020 8566 3507
Sat & Sun: 4pm–5pm
St John the Evangelist
39 Duncan Terrace, N1 8AL
020 7226 3277
Tues–Sat: 12.30pm–1.30pm
St Mary’s Church Islington
Upper St, N1
020 7354 3427
Mon: 11.30am–2pm
SW London Vineyard – The King’s
Table
Sun 2.30pm–4.30pm beneath
Waterloo Bridge (Embankment).
Superb hot stews and potatoes.
Health E1
9–11 Brick Lane, E1
020 7247 0090
Mon–Thurs: 9.15am–11.30am
Friday: 10.30am–12.30pm;
Mon, Wed & Fri afternoons
– appointments only
UR4JOBS
Upper Room, St Saviour Church,
Cobbold Road,W12 9LN
020 8740 5688
Mon & Fri: 1–6pm
Help in finding work and education
Now available online at:
www.ur4jobs.co.uk
10am–12.30pm & 2pm–4pm
Wed: 10am–12.30pm
A, BA, C, D, DT, H, MH, MS, P, SH
Open weekdays 10am–12pm & 2–
3pm, for appointments; closed Wed
Ring for appointment
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
Dress for Success (Women)
Unit 2, Shepperton Hse
89–93 Shepperton Rd, N1 3DF
020 7288 1770
www.dressforsuccess.org
Smart clothing for job interviews
CL
OSW (London Bridge)
4th Floor, The Pavilion
1 Newhams Row, SE1 3UZ
020 7089 2722
CA, ET, IT
EX-FORCES
AWOL? Call the ‘reclaim your life’
scheme from SSAFA
01380 738137 (9am–10am)
Veterans Aid
40 Buckingham Palace Rd, Victoria
020 7828 2468
AS, BA, CL, P
Veterans UK
0800 169 2277
Free help and advice for veterans and access to dedicated
one-to-one welfare service.
www.veterans-uk.info
MEDICAL SERVICES
Great Chapel Street Medical
Centre
13 Great Chapel St, W1
020 7437 9360
Mon, Tues & Thurs: 11am–
12.30pm; Mon–Fri: 2pm–4pm
A, BA, C, D, DT, FC, H, MH, MS, P, SH
Dr Hickey’s – Cardinal Hume
Centre
Arneway St, SW1
020 7222 8593
Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri:
King’s Cross Primary Care Centre
264 Pentonville Rd, N1
020 7530 3444
Mon: 6.30 – 9.30pm; Tue: 2
– 4pm; Fri: 1.30 – 3.30pm
BA, BS, CL, DT, FC, H,
MH, MS, NE, P, SH
Project London (Médecins du
Monde)
Pott St, Bethnal Green, E2 0EF
Mon, Wed &:Fri 1pm–5pm
07974 616 852 & 020 8123 6614
MS, SH
Project London also operates at
Providence Row and U-Turn
Vision Care Opticians
07792 960416
Mon: 2 – 7.30pm at Crisis Skylight; Alternate Wed 10am
– 5pm at The Passage
Free sight tests and spectacles
Streetwise Opera
020 7495 3133
MC, PA
Workshop programme from
www.streetwiseopera.org
SOUP KITCHENS & SOUP RUNS
All Saints Church
Carnegie St, N1
020 7837 0720
Tues & Thurs: 10am–12pm
Cooked breakfast
American Church
(Entrance in Whitfield St)
79a Tottenham Court Rd, W1T
020 7580 2791
Mon–Sat (except Wed):
10am–12pm
P
ASLAN
Hot food and sandwiches for
early risers. Sat 5.30am–8.30am
– Covent Garden, Milford Lane,
Surrey Street, Strand and Waterloo.
P
Bloomsbury Central Baptist
Church
235 Shaftesbury Ave, WC2 8EP
020 7240 0544
Sunday: Roast lunch 1pm
10.30am for ticket (very limited)
PERFORMING ARTS
Crisis Skylight
66 Commercial St, E1
020 7426 5661
Mon–Thurs: 2pm–9.30pm
AC, ET, IT, MC, P, PA
www.crisis.org.uk
Cardboard Citizens
020 7247 7747
PA
www.cardboardcitizens.org.uk
Streets Alive Theatre Company
(18 – 25 years old)
Lambeth Mission, 3–5
Lambeth Road, SE1 7DQ
020 3242 0088
PA
www.streetsalive.org.uk
The Cabin
Near top of Holloway Road,
right at Theo’s Shoe shop
Sandwich van every day;
10.30–11.45am
City Temple
Holborn Viaduct, EC1A 2DE
020 7583 5532
Mon–Fri: 1pm–2pm
£3 voucher (1 per week) redeemable at local café. ID required
Emmanuel Church (Stratford)
Corner of Romford Rd & Upton Lane
Thurs: 7.30am (booked breakfast)
Hare Krishna Food for Life
The Hare Krishna food run provides
wholesome and tasty vegetarian
meals from Soho and King’s Cross
Temples. The former can be found
at Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Mon–Thurs;
7:15pm, finishing at Temple if
Young people (16–21)
Centrepoint
25 Berwick St, Westminster W1F 8RF
020 7287 9134/5
Ring first. Daily vacancies
MASH
8 Wilton Rd, Merton, SW19 2HB
020 8543 3677
Ring first
DRUG / ALCOHOL SERVICES
Addaction (Harm Reduction
Team)
228 Cambridge Heath Rd, E2
020 8880 7780
Drop-in: Mon, Fri 10am–4pm;
Tues, Wed & Thurs 12noon–6pm;
Closed each day 1.30pm–2.15pm
D, OL, MS, NE, SH
Angel Drug Services Drop-in
332c Goswell Rd, EC1V 7LQ
0800 169 2679
Mon–Fri: 2pm–5pm
C, OB, MS, NE
Blackfriars Road CDAT Team
151 Blackfriars Rd, SE1 8EL
020 7620 1888/ 6500
Mon: 2pm–4pm (drop-in)
MH, MS, NE
Central and NW London
Substance Misuse Service
Crowther Market
282 North End Rd, SW6 1NH
020 7381 7700
Mon–Fri: 9am–5pm
C, MS
Druglink
103a Devonport Rd, Shepherds Bush, W12 8PB
020 8749 6799
Mon–Fri: 10am–5pm (needle
exchange and telephone
service); Mon & Fri: 2pm–5pm
& Wed: 3pm–6pm (drop-in)
C, D, OL, NE
The Hungerford Drug Project
(Turning Point)
32a Wardour St, W1D 6QR
020 7437 3523
Mon–Fri: 2pm–5pm (drop-in);
Sat & Sun: 11am–5pm; Antidote (lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender drug/alcohol service)
drop-in Thursday: 6– 8.30pm
C, D, MH, P
Needle Exchange Van
White van, parked at bottom
of Centrepoint Tower, Tottenham Court Road
Mon–Fri: 4 - 7pm
Soho Rapid Access Clinic
Soho Centre for Health and Care
1 Frith Street
London
W1D 3HZ
020 7534 6687
D, P
Westminster Drug Project
474 Harrow road, London, W9 3RU
020 7266 6200
Mon–Fri: 10am – 12.30pm
(appoinments and needleexchange); 1–5pm (open access)
EASTERN EUROPEANS
Ania’s Poland Recruitment
Agency
31 Fallsbrook Rd, SW16 6DU
020 8769 0509
Ring for appointment
East European Advice Centre
Palingswick House, 241
King Street, W6 9LP
020 8741 1288
“It’s out of the question, the feng shui is all wrong”
The Whitaker Centre
91–93 Tollington Way, N7
020 7272 8195
Mon–Thurs: 9am–3pm
Alcohol allowed
BS, FF, L
Upper Room, St Saviour’s
Cobbold Rd, W12
020 8740 5688
Mon–Thur: 5.30–6.45pm;
Tue: 9.30–11.45am; Sat–
Sun: 12.30 –1.30pm
A, BA, C, CA, D, ET, FC, FF, H
12.45pm (advice, appointments
only); Mon & Thur: 1.30–3.30pm
(drop-in for those with tenancies)
AC, BA, BS, C, CL, F, IT, L,
LS, MS, OL, P, SK, TS
Upper Holloway Baptist Church
11 Tollington Way, N7
020 7272 2104
Mon: 10.30am–1.30pm
CL, FF, LF
Webber Street (formerly Waterloo
Christian Centre)
6–8 Webber St, SE1 8QA
020 7928 1677
Mon–Sat: 9am–12noon
B, BA, BS, CL, FF, H, MS, P
West London Day Centre
134–136 Seymour Place, W1H
020 7569 5900
Mon–Fri: 8.45–10am (rough sleeper’s drop-in): 10am–11.30am (dropin, hostel residents join): 11.45am–
Whitechapel Mission
212 Whitechapel Rd, E1
020 7247 8280
Daily: 6–11am (cooked
breakfast 8am–10am)
BS, CL, FF, MS, OL, P
DIRECT ACCESS (YEAR ROUND)
HOSTELS/ NIGHTSHELTERS
All – low-support needs
Livingstone House
105 Melville Rd, Brent NW10 8BU
020 8963 0545
Ring first. Local connection only
Redbridge Night Shelter
16 York Rd, Ilford
IG1 3AD
020 8514 8958
Ring first
St Martin’s Night Centre
12 Adelaide St, Westminster
020 7766 5544
10pm–7.30am
Referral from St Martin’s
Turnaround (Newham)
Choral Hall
020 7511 8377
7.30pm–7.30am
Referral from Choral
Hall Day Centre
Waltham Forest Churches Night
Shelter
434 Forest Rd, Walthamstow
E17 3HR
020 8521 3941
Ring or visit Mon–Fri: 10am–4pm
Men
Missionaries of Charity
112–116 St Georges Rd,
Southwark, SE1
020 7401 8378
Ring first, 9am–11am except Thurs
Age 30+ (low support)
St. Mungo’s (Ennersdale House)
1a Arlington Close, Lewisham SE13 6JQ
020 8318 5521 (ring first)
Medium-support needs
Women
Church Army
1–5 Cosway St, Westminster NW1 5NR
020 7262 3818
Ring first. Daily vacancies
Home of Peace
179 Bravington Rd, W9 3AR
020 8969 2631
Women only. Open access (dry)
St Mungo’s
2–5 Birkenhead St, WC1H
020 7278 6466
“In case it fails, there’s a replacement
bus service included”
BA, BS, CL, ET, F, H, IT, MS
Hanbury Community Project (SCT)
22a Hanbury St, Spitalfields, E1
020 7377 2497
• This day centre is going
through some changes over
Christmas and into the New Year,
but we’ll update this entry once we
have details of the new service
The Haven Club
At the Holy Cross Centre
(See below).
Mon: 6pm–10pm
For self-treating drug & alcohol
users: no using on day or no entry
Holy Cross Centre
The Crypt, Holy Cross Church
Cromer St, WC1
020 7278 8687
Mon: 2pm–5pm; Tues: 6–9pm;
(ticket required) Thurs: 5–8pm
(Italian speakers session); Fri:
12 noon–3pm (refugees and
asylum seekers session).
AC, FF, H, IT, LA, LF, MH, P
Kings Cross Baptist Church
Vernon Sq, W1
020 7837 7182
Mon; Fri: 11am–2pm;
Tues: 11am–1pm
FF, LF
Manna Day Centre
6 Melior St, SE1
020 7403 1931
Mon–Sun: 8.30am–1.30pm
AD, B, BA, BS, CL, DT, FF,
FC, H, MH, MS, P
New Cross 999 Club
All Saints, Monson Rd, SE14
020 7732 0209
AD, ET, FF, L, LA
North London Action for the
Homeless (NLAH)
Church Hall, 24–30 Bouverie Rd, N16
020 8802 1600
Tue: 12pm–1.30pm;
Thurs: 7–8.30pm
BA, BS, CL, FF, P
Our Lady Help of Christians
Catholic Church
4 Lady Margaret Road, NW5 2XT
Mon – Sat; 2 – 3pm: Sun; 3 – 4pm
FF, H, P
The Passage (25+)
St Vincent’s Centre,
Carlisle Place, SW1P
020 7592 1850
Mon–Fri: 8am–12pm (for rough
sleepers); 12–2pm (Lunch);
2–6pm (appointments); 4.30–6pm
(verified rough sleepers – by invitation); Sat–Sun: 9am–12noon.
A, BA, CA, CL, D, ET, F, FC,
H, IT, L, MH, MS, P, TS
Providence Row
The Dellow Centre
82 Wentworth St,
Aldgate, E1 7SA
020 7375 0020
Mon–Fri: 9.15–11.30am (for
rough sleepers) & 1.30–3.30pm
(appointments & activities); Fri:
3–4pm (for rough sleepers)
A, BA, BS, CL, D, ET, F, H, L, MH, MS, P
Rochester Row Day Centre
97 Rochester Row, SW1
020 7233 9862
Mon & Fri: 5.30–8pm (appointments only); Tues: 2–4.30pm
(art workshop); Wed and Thurs:
5.30–8pm (drop-in); Thurs:
1–5pm (benefits); Thurs & Fri
2–4pm (English classes)
AC, BA, BS, CL, ET, FF, P
Shoreditch Community Project
(SCT)
St Leonard’s Church
Shoreditch High St, E1
020 7613 3232
Mon & Wed; 9.30am–
12.30pm; Tues: 2–4pm
FF, BA, OL, P
Simon Community
House of Hospitality
129 Malden Rd, Kentish Town, NW5
Mon: 11am–4pm; Wed:
12–8pm;Thursday: 3–8pm;
Sunday 12–8pm
Spectrum Centre
6 Greenland St, Camden
Town, NW1
020 7267 4937
Mon–Fri: 9.30am–3pm
A, BS, C, CL, D, FC, H, L,
LS, MH, MS, P, TS
Spires Centre
8 Tooting Bec Gardens, SW16 1RB
020 8696 0943
Tues & Thurs: 9–10.30am (rough
sleepers only), 10.30am–2pm (dropin); Wed: 10am–12noon (rough
sleepers), 10am–1pm (adult learning centre); Fri: 10am–1pm (women
only); Sun: 11.30am–3pm (drop-in)
A, BA, CL, D, ET, FF, FC,
H, MC, MH, MS, P
Spitalfield’s Crypt Trust
See Hanbury and Shoreditch
Community Projects
St Christopher’s Centre
Lime Grove Resource Centre,
47 Lime Grove, W12
Please call for opening
times: 020 8740 9182
AC, BS, CA, ET, FC, IT, L, MS
St Cuthbert’s Centre
The Philbeach Hall
51 Philbeach Gdns, Earls Court
020 7835 1389
Mon–Fri: 11.45am–3.45pm
AC, BS, C, CL, F, H, IT, L, OL, P
St Stephen’s Church
The Manna
17 Canonbury Rd, N1 2DF
020 7226 5369
Tues: 7–9pm (drop-in); Weds:
1–3pm (drop-in – B and FC); Fri:
10am–12noon (key work session)
B, BS, CL, FC, FF, L, P
The Tab Centre
20 Hackney Rd, Shoreditch, E2
020 7739 3076
Friday: 9am–12.noon
F
Thames Reach
See Hackney 180 First
Contact & Advice
Triumphant Church International
136 West Green Rd
South Tottenham, N15 5AD
020 8800 6001
Sun: 10–11am (open drop-in)
AD, C, FF
Union Chapel (Margins)
Compton Terrace, Upper Street, N1
020 7359 4019
Sun: 3pm–5pm
BS, CL, FF, HA, L, LA, LF, P
Choral Hall Lifeskills Centre
310 Barking Rd, Plaistow, E13
020 7511 8377
A, BA, BS, C, CL, D, F, FC, L, M
Church Army, Women’s Day
Centre
1–5 Cosway St, NW1
020 7262 3818
Mon–Thurs: 9.30am–12pm
(advice); 12pm–3.30pm (drop-in);
12 noon–1pm (sandwiches).
AC, BA, BS, CA, CL, C, ET, FF,
H, IT, L, LA, LF, MC, P
Women only
The Connection at St Martin’s
12 Adelaide St, WC2
020 7766 5544
Mon–Fri: 9am–12.30pm (12pm
Wed). Various afternoon sessions
from 1pm (except Wed). Weekends:
9am–1pm (no entry after 10.30am).
There are also drop-in sessions on
Tues & Thurs 4.30pm–7.30pm.
A, AC, BA, BS, CA, CL, D, ET, F, FC,
H, IT, MC, MH, MS, OB, P, SK, SS
Croydon Resource Centre
70a Wellesley Rd, Croydon, CR0 2AR
020 8686 1222
Mon–Fri: 10am –3pm
AS, BA, CA, CL ET, F, IT, LA
Cricklewood Homeless Concern
020 8961 8599
Homeless drop-in: 28a Fortunegate
Rd, Craven Park, NW10 9RE
Tues & Fri: 10am–2.30pm;
Weds & Thurs: 12.30–2.30pm
Mental health drop-in: in flat
above St Gabriel’s Hall
77 Chichele Rd, Cricklewood, NW2 3AQ
Tues–Fri: 10am–12 noon.
AC, BA, BS, H, IT, L, MS, OL
Crisis Skylight
See Performing Arts
Deptford Churches Centre
Speedwell St, Deptford
020 8692 6548
Mon, Tues, Thurs & Fri:
9am–3.30 pm
A, AC, AD, AS, B, BA, BE, BS, C,
CA, CL, D, DA, DT, ET, FF, H, L,
LA, LF, MC, MH, MS, OL, SS, TS
The Dunloe Centre
St Saviour’s Priory, Dunloe Street, E2
020 7739 9976/020 7613 3232
Tues: 10.30am–12.30pm
CL, FF
Faith House (Salvation Army)
11 Argyle Street, King’s
Cross (near Burger King)
020 7837 5149
Mon: 6–8pm (men’s group);
Tues: 5–6pm (women’s drop-in);
Weds: 1–3pm (women’s dropin), 7.30–9pm (open drop-in);
Fri: 11am–1pm (women’s
brunch & discussion group)
Finsbury Park
Street Drinkers Initiative
See Whitaker Centre
Hackney 180 First Contact &
Advice (Thames Reach)
Venue 1:
Hackney Methodist Church
219 Mare St, E5
0208 985 6707
Mon–Thurs: 8am–9.30am
(breakfast club)
Venue 2:
St John’s at Hackney
Lower Clapton Rd, E5
Mon–Wed: 10.30am–12.30pm
(advice service) & 1.30pm–
3pm (appointments)
ScotsCare (for Scots in London)
37 King St, Covent
Garden, WC2E 8JS
Call the helpline on 0800 6522 989
BA, CA, H, B, P, TS
St Giles Trust
64 Camberwell Church St, SE5 8JB
020 7703 7000
Mon–Fri: 9.30am–12.30pm
A, BA, BS, D, ET, H, L, MH, MS, P, TS
Women’s Link
26 Hanbury St, E1 6QR
0800 652 3167 (ring first)
AS, H
BENEFITS AGENCY
Wedge House has now closed, see
story on page 11, and readers are
directed to use local Job Centres,
or visit a day centre that hosts
JCP outreach staff. These are
listed below by day, but contact
individual centres for times:
Mondays – The Passage; The
Connections at St Martins; Holycross Centre; Rushworth Rolling
Shelter; Guy’s Hospital Oncology Ward; Spectrum; Webber
Street/Waterloo Christian Centre;
HAGA; Compass Day Centre.
Tuesday – St Thomas’ Hospital, In Patients; Westminster
Rolling Shelter; The Connection
at St Martin’s; Conway House
(hostel); Anchor House (hostel);
The Passage; Downview Prison;
Look Ahead Day Centre.
Wednesday – The Passage; Great
Chapel Street Medical Centre; St
Thomas’ Hospital, Lloyd Still ward;
Cricklewood Homeless Concern;
Parker Street (hostel); Crisis Skylight;
Endsleigh Gardens (hostel); Dellow
Centre (hostel); Brixton Prison.
Thursday – Broadway Day Centre;
Manna Centre; Great Chapel St
Medical Centre; West London
Day Centre; The Connection at
St Martin’s; Rochester Row Day
Centre; Whitechapel Mission;
Deptford Churches Centre;
Probation Service; Wandsworth
prison; Focus Day Centre.
Friday – The Passage;
Cricklewood Homeless Concern;
Endsleigh Gardens (hostel);
The Connection at St Martin’s;
Cedars Road (hostel); St Giles Day
Centre; Cardinal Hume Centre
(drop in); Waterloo Jobshop;
Romford YMCA (hostel).
All week – Brixton Prison;
Wandsworth prison.
See Telephone Services
for helplines
DAY CENTRES AND DROP-INS
Ace of Clubs (16+)
St Alphonsus Rd, Clapham, SW4 7AS
020 7622 3196
Sun, Mon &Tues: 2pm–6pm;
Wed & Thurs: 12 noon–2pm;
Fri & Sat: 12 noon–6pm
BS, DT, F, FC, H, IT, L, MS, OB, P
Acton Homeless Concern
Emmaus House
1 Berrymead Gardens, Acton
020 8992 5768
Call for opening times
A, B, BA, CL, D, DT, ET, F, FC
Aldgate Advice Centre
See Providence Row (The
Dellow Centre)
Broadway Day Centre
Market Lane, Shepherds Bush, W12
020 8735 5810
Mon–Fri: 10am – 1pm (dropin); 2 – 4pm (Appointments)
AD, A, BA, BS, CL, DA, D, ET, F, FC, H,
IT, L, LA, MS, MH, ML, P, SK, SH, TS
Bromley 999 Club
424 Downham Way,
Downham, BR1 5HR
020 8698 9403
Mon–Fri: 10am –5pm
AD, L, FF
“He’d better grin and Blair it”
Chelsea Methodist Church
Pastoral Care
155a Kings Road, SW3 5TX
020 7352 9305
Mon: 9am–3.30pm; Tues & Thurs:
8.30am–3.30pm (last laundry
at 1pm); Fri: 9.30am–2pm
F, L, P
Key to the list:
Accom assistance – AS
Advocacy – AD
Alcohol workers – A
Art classes – AC
Barber – B
Benefits advice – BA
Bathroom/showers – BS
Bedding available – BE
Careers advice – CA
Clothing – CL
Counselling – C
Several seasonal shelters are still
open, and we’ve added a few
new all year services as we slowly
expand this directory. If you’ve any
changes or suggestions, email:
[email protected]
Or write to our address on page 3
Thank you to Peter Strefford,
among others, for updating our
information
Updated entries:
Services added:
10
3
ADVICE SERVICES
Borderline (for Scots)
7–9 Belgrave Rd, SW1V 1QB
0845 456 2344 (advice line)
Mon–Fri: 9.30am–10.30am (drop-in
advice service); 9.30am–4.30am
(appointments). Closed Wed pm
A, BA, C, CL, D, H, MH, P
Debt advice – DA
Dentist – DT
Drugs workers – D
Education/training – ET
Free food – FF
Food – F
Foot care – FC
Housing/accom advice – H
Internet access – IT
Laundry – L
Leisure activities – LA
Leisure facilities – LF
Close, W10 6TW
0208 960 6798
CA, ET, IT, P
The Caravan Drop-In
St James’s Church, 197
Piccadilly, W1
Open daily: Sat – Mon; 10am
– 7pm: Tues – Fri; 11am – 7pm
A friendly ear to listen, with
some access to counselling
C, P
CHAS (Central London)
19–20 Shroton St, NW1 6UG
020 7723 5928
By appointment only
BA, DA, H
HOPE worldwide / Two Step
360 City Road, EC1V 2PY
020 7713 7655
Mon–Fri 10am–4pm
(appointments only)
AS, H, TS, P
Bridge Resource Centre
Bridge Close, Kingsdown
Luggage stowage – LS
Medical services – MS
Mental health – MH
Music classes – MC
Needle exchange – NE
Outreach worker links – OL
Outreach workers – OB
Pavement stockist – P
Safe keeping – SK
Sexual health advice – SH
SSAFA – SS
Tenancy support – TS
KCAH
36a Fife Rd
Kingston, KT1 1SU
020 8255 2439
BA, FF, H
London Irish Centre
50–52 Camden Sq, NW1 9XB
020 7916 2222
Ring for service times
A, BA, C, CL, D, ET, H, MC
No 10 – Care Advice Service
10 Princess St
Oxford Circus, W1C 2DJ
020 7629 5424
Wed: 6.30pm–8pm (drop in – 18+)
BA, C, CA, ET, H
Notre Dame Refugee Centre
5 Leceister Pl, WC2H 7BX
020 7434 1619
Mon and Thurs: 11am–4pm
(drop-in) Service for French-speaking refugees and asylum seekers
BA, C, CA, FF, H

Issue 28, February The free monthly for London`s homeless

Transcription

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