I am now back in the real world.

As you all know I have been working as a volunteer for Crisis at
Christmas and I am proud to say that I completed a Straight Eight on the
day shift at The Gate, the residential centre for the alcohol and/or
drug dependent homeless in London.

The Gate's location changes every year and its address is kept
confidential to discourage casual visitors. This year, Berkeley Homes
donated the use of 4 floors of a building on the Isle of Dogs which is
due to be demolished in April
http://www.berkeley-southquay.co.uk/index.cfm?articleID=1
To say that the building exceeded our needs and expectations would be a
gross understatement. We also did not expect Berkeley Homes to encourage
its own staff to come along as volunteers during the eight days we were
open.

On the Monday before we opened a team of technical volunteers descended
on the building and turned what had been the headquarters of the
Financial Ombudsman Service into a home for 140 Guests, and when I say
home I mean it in sense of a family home not some bland
institutionalised purely functional unit. It might interest you all to
hear that among the techies was a certain Chris Martin (Coldplay). He
was responsible for plumbing in the kitchen and I am pleased to say that
we had no leaks at all in that area.

I started work on Tuesday (23rd) at 07.45 along with ~70 other
volunteers from all walks of life and for the next 8 days we worked and
bonded with our Guests and became one big family. By the end of the week
you would have been hard pushed to say who was a Guest and who a
volunteer. In fact, on Monday (29th) a newbie volunteer* approached me
to see if I needed anything (new clothes, support, advice etc) and there
were several minutes of confusion until I realised that my badge had
been obscured by my fleece jacket. I, too, made a similar error when I
identified two smartly dressed guys as volunteers. A few days earlier I
had seen them arrive unshaven, unwashed and unkempt; now, they wouldn't
have looked out of place relaxing in an upmarket coffee shop.

Yesterday, with tears in our eyes** we said goodbye to our guests. Some
are going into detox and rehab programmes. Some have been found
sheltered or supported accommodation, and some we will see again next
year. Sadly, some we will never see again as they will die on the street.

I live in hope that one day Crisis will not be needed, but until then I
intend to be there for those of our big family who have less than nothing.

John

* Not all volunteers do the Straight Eight; the average is 3 shifts per
person.
** Literally. I saw several volunteers with suspiciously damp eyes and I
myself had to wander off into a quiet corner to compose myself twice
-- 
Protect the Earth
It was not given to you by your parents
You hold it in trust for your children

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