The Westminster Churches & Synagogue Winter Night Shelter is co-ordinated by West London Day Centre. Every night of the week between October - May, a church or synagogue in Westminster opens its doors to provide vital respite for homeless guests, who would otherwise find themselves out on the streets in the cold weather. The circuit consists of 13 churches, seven of which are Catholic Churches from the Westminster diocese, plus other faith churches and the synagogue. Due to this we are able to offer a warm bed to rough sleepers for 8 months of the year.
2015-16's night shelter provided 63 street homeless people with temporary accommodation through the winter months. Alongside the day centre, the shelter supported 39 people into longer term housing, and assisted 11 people to find paid work. This year, we want to help even more people.
This year's Sleep Out for the Shelter will be hosted by St James's Church, Piccadilly, in the gardens of their grounds. St James's Piccadilly are one of the host venues of the night shelter, and graciously held the Sleep Out last year. 2015's Sleep Out for the Shelter raised an absolutely fantastic £25,434.
John Kirk CEO of WLM writes:
The Sleep Out has been a very important annual event for West London Mission over recent years. Of course, one night sleeping out can never replicate properly what so many of our clients go through on a nightly basis – but it does help give us some idea of the challenges and feelings faced by those who sleep rough. Over the past 3 years, my three children have all participated and it has been especially thought-provoking to understand better what homeless people have to go through. Vitally, the event has enabled us to raise a great deal of funds to support the Westminster Churches and Synagogue Winter Shelter that we coordinate.
Want more information?
Contact Chloe on chloe.harrison@wlm.org.uk or 020 7569 5914.
