6
Issue 70 / 2014
GUESTLIST
guestlist.net
"I'm currently working with a winter
shelter called The Robes Project, which
basically operates from Southwark,
near Bermondsey, all the way down to
Lambeth. About 90% of the guests are
sleeping rough on the streets, and the
project is a way for charities to open
up their churches and church halls
to provide hospitality to people that
would be sleeping rough. Robes is a
very small project, it's very intimate,
and at the heart of it is trying to
see each guest as an individual. We
communicate, we try to empower
them, helping them to make the most
of their skills. Often we see just how
creative, just how resourceful they
have to be to get by. With Robes, they
know that it is a safe place, their name
will be on the list, some guests come
for the first night and tell us that it's
the first time in months they've been
able to just put their head down and
go to sleep. What have I learnt from
volunteering? Well, like anybody, I
like nice things, but in the seven years
that I've volunteered with homeless
and vulnerable people, I've seen that
on the mere flick of a coin, anybody
could be wearing their shoes. You see
someone walking down the street -
can you tell if they're homeless or not?
Fundamentally, they're a human being
and you'd hope that people would
treat them with respect, regardless of
whether they're housed or not housed.
Donate at www.robes.org.uk
Good EGG: WEndy Thompson on
FundraisinG For ThE homElEss in souTh
london
