Preparations continue for the reopening on 1 December 2016 of the Southend Winter Night Shelter, giving food and lodging to homeless persons over the winter months.
The scheme (operated in partnership with HARP: Southend's Homeless Charity) involves churches from all over Southend providing shelter for homeless persons on specified nights. One of those churches is in fact a consortium of Methodist churches (Highlands, Wesley, Chalkwell, United Methodist Church, Hockley and Rayleigh) who will offer hospitality every Saturday at the Methodist church building in Whittingham Avenue.
Volunteers are always welcome, whether to provide catering skills for dinner and breakfast, befriending or overnight supervision. We particularly need volunteers for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. Contact 07938 536921 or andrewghyde@aol.com for more information.
We also welcome donations of suitable food and appropriate clothing, which can be made through HARP.
Particularly we've been delighted to receive the gift of a 32" Sony Bravia TV set from Thames View TV of 1615 London Road Leigh on Sea. Our sincere thanks to Roy Mundy and his colleagues for the set, which we'll use to show DVDs to our guests.