Who's got that Friday Feeling?
The weather may be miserable, but we're still feeling cheery at the Windsor Homeless Project. It's been a busy few months (do we always say that?!). We've moved back to our old home at Holy Trinity for the time being, and thanks to a fantastic paint job by one of our guests, (aided by some GoodGym volunteers), it's looking good as new. And with some help and hard work from our team of volunteers, we've settled back to life here well. We're nothing if not adaptable! On our Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays sessions, we're welcoming about 18 guests a session at the moment, with 12 guests in to the Project at a time. That's no mean feat, in between all the coffees, sandwiches, dinners, puddings, more coffees, warm welcomes, conversations, plus the extra cleaning and sanitising, so thank you to our fabulous volunteers for keeping everything running smoothly. It's because of you that Nick and Liv are able to spend our sessions with the guests, working with them to make real progress towards their goals. (In between bites of mac & chees, and cake of course). Speaking of - thanks to you chefs and bakers, both at the Project, and behind the scenes, for continuing to make WHP such a delicious place to be. (Winter is coming - better eat another portion of crumble!)
What a treat! (Malteser cakes also shown)
We're pleased too to have more of our partnership services joining us at the Project on a regular basis. If you popped down over the last few weeks, you might have seen Aggie from Resilience (drug and alcohol service), the two Emmas from RBWM, Janet and Manjit from Radian (local housing), or Dr Huw administering flu jabs. We're glad to have them on board! And for those of you wondering, Tuesdays and Thursdays are busy too. Along with the general running of the Project, we're using this time to work with specific guests on an individual basis. One guest we've been working with has made huge leaps and bounds this month with their budgeting and debt management, and resolving some housing issues. It's really gratifying to hear that they are feeling positive about the future - it's progress like this that makes all of our work worthwhile.
A very quick note on COVID-19
We know that some of you will have questions about our plans, given that cases are on the rise again (with some of our WHP friends affected too). We want to assure you that we're doing everything we can to keep our guests, volunteers and staff safe. Masking, distancing, cleaning, temperature checking, checking in - we're doing it all. Again, we're grateful to our volunteers for setting the example to our guests. We're hoping to stay open as 'normal', as long as we possibly can - which we can only do if we're all sticking to these measures. As always, we're keeping an eye on the situation, and will let you know if there are any changes. If you ever have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please drop us a line - and please stay safe, everyone.
Anyone have any spare windscreen wipers for the wonderful Patricia?
Getting sorted
The move has given us an excuse to do some serious spring (autumn?) cleaning - and between the hard efforts of a group of 'Good-Gym'mers, and star volunteer Jo, we've managed to make some sense of our donations pile. We're doing pretty well for most items at the moment (see the pics below!). Things change quickly though, and we may be doing some shoutouts for specific items in the coming weeks and months. Please do keep an eye out on the What We Need When We Need It Facebook page, and when we've got a tricky item to source (e.g. an electric keyboard for one musical guest) please do share it with your friends. You never know what might be in their attics!
Our very own Marie Kondo in action!
On the road again
We've had some more good news over the last month or so, with a couple more guests being offered permanent accommodation - so Nick and Liv have been putting in a few more miles in the WHP van helping getting people settled in. We've been defeated once by a sofa and a very tight corner (we don't like to talk about it) - but apart from that we think we're pretty A* movers. But before you ask, no, we don't accept bookings!
Man + Van
How to support
There are lots of ways that our fantastic community supports WHP, from our volunteers to our Supporters (who donate a fixed amount every month), from the 'likers and sharers' on Social Media, to the fundraising event organisers (yoga classes, gigs, Tango... what's next?!), from our Amazon Wishlisters, to our local business partners... the list goes on.
If you'd like to organise an event to raise money for WHP, or to run a 10k, or if you know of a local business who might be able to support us in some way - please get in touch!
And as always...
Thank you to you all, for all your help, however you do it. We'd be nothing without you!
See you soon,
Nick & Liv Thank you!
Comments