WHO CARES ABOUT THE HOMELESS?

Well, there is one lady in Swindon who is passionate about caring for the homeless in our town and her name is Rachel.

This morning I went to meet up with a friend I don’t see that often because she lives some distance away, but today she was in town and whilst we were having our coffee, Rachel came to speak to us.  She invited us to an interactive photo exhibition in one of the units in the town centre to raise the profile of Threshold, a local independent charity that provides emergency, short, medium and long-term accommodation to single homeless people in Swindon.  

When we had finished our coffee, I went to have a quick look round and was very moved by some of the photographs and writing - in fact, a poem written by a homeless person moved me to tears.  

I remember someone from a homeless charity coming to our Church once and he told us the thing that upset homeless people most is the fact that when they are sitting on the ground, people just walk by and ignore them.  After that, I began to speak to those who were obviously homeless, and contrary to what people say, do give them money - what’s the point of buying them a cup of coffee and a sandwich when they have those things on the pavement beside them.  It’s true that some will spend the money on drugs, but as far as I am concerned, if you give a gift of money, then it’s up to the person you give it to, to choose what to spend that money on.  I am so grateful for what I have and I do worry if I don’t see them for a while, but hope that it’s perhaps because they have found somewhere to live.

What a ray of light and sunshine Rachel proved to be - and I’m sure if there were more like her who were so fervent and excited about helping the homeless in our town, things would be a lot better.  She told us she would be doing a sponsored sleep out in a local Church car park on Friday evening, along with her daughter and many others, and they will have just a piece of cardboard to lie on.  It may be a very cold night, but I just hope it isn’t wet.  

Rachel is in the middle of my collage and the various models from the exhibition, in the rest of the collage were made by Steve, who with the help of Threshold, has stopped his alcohol consumption and drug use and now works with the staff on other projects.  Most of his models are made from old tin cans and they are amazing - they would make far worthier winners of The Turner Prize!

If you want to know more about Threshold and what they do, have a look here.

What a humbling start to our day - I will definitely be going back to have another look as the exhibition is there for the next 6 weeks.

"Hungry not only for bread - 
     but hungry for love. 
Naked not only for clothing - 
     but naked of human dignity and respect. 
Homeless not only for want of a home of bricks - 
     but homeless because of rejection."
Mother Teresa