A warm welcome for Wirral’s rough sleepers

A church-led night shelter will provide food and accommodation for 12 rough sleepers in Wirral. Organised by Wirral Churches’ Ark Project, a Christian charity fighting homelessness in the area, the 12 guests will enjoy a warm meal, welcome and bed every night for eight weeks.

The first guests arrived at the Salvation Church, Rock Ferry, on Monday 28 January. A further eight venues, including a library and an Age UK community centre, will provide a “rolling shelter” every night for eight weeks. They are making final preparations to ensure supplies are in place and volunteers are trained to meet the needs of the 12 guests.


Volunteers make final preparations at Salvation Church, Rock Ferry

Project Coordinator at Wirral Ark, Jackie Snell, says the initiative is a community effort with local people and organisations helping out: “There’s been a really positive response. We’ve had offers of support from the Quakers, a local Mosque, churches of all denominations, the local library, Merseytravel and schools. It’s a real community effort. Over 280 volunteers have come forward to give up their time.

“Other organisations in the area are often oversubscribed and lots of rough sleepers choose not to go there for a variety of reasons. This church-led night shelter will offer alternative accommodation, with hospitality and welcome as its focus. The whole idea of the shelter is not to solve problems, but to simply offer a warm, friendly welcome for our guests.”

St Michael’s Church, Pensby, will open its doors on 8 February and then again one night a week for five weeks. Churchwarden, Bob Fiddaman, is coordinating the work and says that his faith is driving his passion to serve others: “People are on the streets for a hundred and one reasons and it’s our job is to try and make their lives that little bit better. The idea is to look after them and provide them with the basics for a decent night’s kip. We’ll talk with them, provide an evening meal, and in the morning, we’ll give them a cooked breakfast and a sandwich to take with them.”

Bob says he hopes to use the experience they gain this year to grow their offering next year. “We’ve got two church halls, so next year, I fully expect to be able to double our offer to Wirral’s rough sleepers.”

A recent study showed that, on average, 93 new rough sleepers presented themselves every month to local housing support services across Merseyside. However, the true number could be substantially higher. Many, including people with no access to public funds due to their immigration status and others, do not present themselves to the authorities, creating a “hidden” community of homelessness.

The night shelter initiative has been funded in part by the All Churches Trust and The Anchor Foundation. Local churches have also made small donations.


Volunteers from Salvation Church, Rock Ferry - just some of the 280 volunteers across all venues.

Page last updated: Tuesday 5th February 2019 2:07 PM
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