First of all, a huge shout out to Hollypark Girls National School. The mammies and daddies held a cake sale today, and all of the leftover cakes were kindly brought to us by a lovely lady and two of the children from the school. The homeless were absolutely overjoyed. There were every kind of cakes you could imagine. Every single one of them was gone by the end of the night. Thank you to girls at Hollypark Girls National School for such a thoughtful and generous gesture.
While the cakes brought plenty of smiles, it was also a very difficult night.
We were slightly under on food and had only 350 hot meals available. For the first time in a long time, five people were left without a hot meal. Thankfully, we had enough soup and were able to make up the difference with yoghurts, drinks, fruit and vegetables, ensuring nobody walked away empty-handed.
As we have mentioned before, the number of rough sleepers increases during the warmer months. Many people choose not to go into hostels, and as a result we are seeing more people sleeping on the streets.
One young lad came to us tonight with no money, nothing to his name, and nowhere to stay. He wasn't registered with the homeless services. We rang the freephone number and were told he could not be given a bed or hostel accommodation unless he was registered. We then rang the rough sleepers number, but it wasn't open until 10pm and it wasn't a freephone service. The young lad didn't even have a phone. A few of us came together and pooled what we could to give him enough money for a hostel for the night. We gave him the information he needed and encouraged him to get himself sorted first thing in the morning.
Those are the moments that stay with you.
When someone is standing in front of you, desperate for somewhere safe to sleep, pleading for help, it is heartbreaking. You can't help but wonder where they would end up. Every person we meet is somebody's son or daughter, and that is one of the most devastating realities of the homeless crisis.
The van was absolutely packed tonight, with another car following behind that was also full to the brim. Yet everything was gone within one hour and forty-five minutes.
That's the frightening part. You arrive thinking you have enough, maybe even too much, and before you know it every single item has been distributed.
We gave out lots of sleeping bags tonight and, with the good weather arriving, there were countless requests for tents. The stories we hear every week are heartbreaking. Many of them are simply too difficult to share publicly.
One thing we noticed tonight was an increase in elderly people using Zimmer frames. That was particularly difficult to see. We also have a blind gentleman who comes to us every single week. The fact that people have to wait week after week for this support is heartbreaking.
We are incredibly blessed to have five six-foot tables — 30 feet of food in total. When people leave our stall, they don't just leave with a hot meal. Most leave with two or three bags of shopping as well.
None of this would be possible without your continued kindness, generosity and support.
Thank you for helping us help others.
If you would like to donate, please head to: https://t.co/txexZXWGR6
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Hands down, one of the best pieces of business the Reds have ever executed! 💪 #LFC
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Liverpool Football Club celebrates its 134th birthday today 🎈
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A special story was underway... ✨
My Dad is my hero, my best mate, & the strongest man I know. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from him, it’s how to face challenges with courage, humour, & dignity
The treatment is going well & he’ll handle this the same way he’s handled everything else in life
Love you, Dad ❤️
@LouiseLacy A wonderful man, what he done for the families, the club and the community after Hillsborough was something special - he has always had a special place in my heart ❤️