Homeless but not helpless
Hi everyone, I've been thinking of ideas for my blog and today I want to share my routine when feeding the homeless in my previous Ilford community.
It all starts early in the morning, waking up around 7 am. This can be a struggle in itself, as I'm out of the routine of waking up early for school. However, what motivates me is that our work helps the homeless which is a rewarding experience.
After I wake up, my mum and I travel to Tesco's to collect food donations that will be given out at the foodbank that we prepare at 9 am every morning.
Once we collect the donations, we travel to the Prince of Wales pub in Ilford. The owner was so kind to give us permission to serve the homeless in their car park during this pandemic.
My mum and I then take out the tables and give them a thorough wipe down with a disinfectant. Before we do this, we both wear gloves and masks as a precaution to not spread any germs. Usually, 65 homeless or economically hard-up people come every morning to collect food for themselves and their families. Some of the visitors we serve are so desperate for food, they start queuing from 8 am, just so they can be one of the first to collect food.
We understand that queuing up for a long time can frustrate someone, so we play calming music to prevent them getting rowdy. Different music is played from Gospel, to dance, to rock, to rap. Everyone has a chance to pick a song they want to make their time more enjoyable.
Occasionally we see a few drunk people during the meals.One time a man was so drunk that he was teetering over.To prevent further worries we decided to serve him first.We asked people from the queue if we could serve him first to prevent any anger and for them to feel as if they were apart of the decision making process. We also prioritise women who are pregnant or have children and the elderly. This shows the strong bond and sense of community the homeless people have with each other, to feel sympathy for others and put others first as they are as hungry as anyone else.
It is devastating to see mothers especially struggling to provide food for their children but also bringing their children along to get food and waiting in the queues for ages in the heat or cold. But I'm glad that our work is making a difference for these people.
After that, we pack away and go home where we have some some free time. However, we set off again at 5 pm.
We once again set up the tables but this time we serve hot meals. We have a variety that we hand out. The nearby Gurdwara provide us with a vegetarian dish, usually rice with a vegetarian curry, daily and other volunteers also cook meals such as fish and chips or chicken pasta, if anyone wants a meat option.
Once all the meals have been given out, if we have any extra we drop them off to another charity, The Bethel Centre, to hand out in their community. Then my mum and I travel to 2 or 3 Tesco's to collect more food donations for the food bank in the morning.
It saddens me when we don't have enough food donations to give out at the food bank in the morning, as this affects a lot of the visitors, leaving them hungry still.
Stay at home and stay safe.
It all starts early in the morning, waking up around 7 am. This can be a struggle in itself, as I'm out of the routine of waking up early for school. However, what motivates me is that our work helps the homeless which is a rewarding experience.
After I wake up, my mum and I travel to Tesco's to collect food donations that will be given out at the foodbank that we prepare at 9 am every morning.
Once we collect the donations, we travel to the Prince of Wales pub in Ilford. The owner was so kind to give us permission to serve the homeless in their car park during this pandemic.
My mum and I then take out the tables and give them a thorough wipe down with a disinfectant. Before we do this, we both wear gloves and masks as a precaution to not spread any germs. Usually, 65 homeless or economically hard-up people come every morning to collect food for themselves and their families. Some of the visitors we serve are so desperate for food, they start queuing from 8 am, just so they can be one of the first to collect food.
We understand that queuing up for a long time can frustrate someone, so we play calming music to prevent them getting rowdy. Different music is played from Gospel, to dance, to rock, to rap. Everyone has a chance to pick a song they want to make their time more enjoyable.
Occasionally we see a few drunk people during the meals.One time a man was so drunk that he was teetering over.To prevent further worries we decided to serve him first.We asked people from the queue if we could serve him first to prevent any anger and for them to feel as if they were apart of the decision making process. We also prioritise women who are pregnant or have children and the elderly. This shows the strong bond and sense of community the homeless people have with each other, to feel sympathy for others and put others first as they are as hungry as anyone else.
It is devastating to see mothers especially struggling to provide food for their children but also bringing their children along to get food and waiting in the queues for ages in the heat or cold. But I'm glad that our work is making a difference for these people.
After that, we pack away and go home where we have some some free time. However, we set off again at 5 pm.
We once again set up the tables but this time we serve hot meals. We have a variety that we hand out. The nearby Gurdwara provide us with a vegetarian dish, usually rice with a vegetarian curry, daily and other volunteers also cook meals such as fish and chips or chicken pasta, if anyone wants a meat option.
Once all the meals have been given out, if we have any extra we drop them off to another charity, The Bethel Centre, to hand out in their community. Then my mum and I travel to 2 or 3 Tesco's to collect more food donations for the food bank in the morning.
It saddens me when we don't have enough food donations to give out at the food bank in the morning, as this affects a lot of the visitors, leaving them hungry still.
I was hoping that through this blog I would inspire you to help us with food donations or help us volunteer to serve the homeless community. If you would like more information click here. Or donate here.
Stay at home and stay safe.
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