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Many thanks to the Dorset Community Foundation who have awarded R2R a grant from the Salisbury Diocesan Social Welfare Fund: Round 1 January 2016 of £800. This will go towards the hot breakfast that we provide for verified rough sleepers in Poole through the Fisherman’s Cafe on Poole Quay. This is a very important service during the winter months, allowing the guys a few precious minutes in the warmth and hospitality of such a welcoming cafe.
http://www.dorsetcommunityfoundation.org
Our celebration on Homeless Sunday was a great success with a good attendance of generous people who donated £351.85 at the end of the service. Pastor Pete (in flat cap) spoke about the work being done to house the homeless which he described as “some of the most important, if not most important, work being done in the nation today.” Other speakers spoke from their own experiences of how easy it is to become homeless and how anyone can become homeless. The point was also very strongly made that local authorities cannot be relied on to help. Without organisations such as Green Pastures and now Routes to Roots, people would be left under Southport Pier or frozen into their sleeping bags in Poole Park.
Many thanks to Madeleine who served coffee and cookies courtesy of Starbucks on Poole High Street, to Pete and Lisa from the Vineyard who led the hymn singing and to Skinner Street URC who provide office and drop-in space and without whom R2R would be homeless.
Christmas Day lunch saw 21 homeless and vulnerably housed people come along to enjoy a Christmas meal and quiz. They also received presents and other goodies donated by local churches, schools and individual well-wishers – a real ’12 Days of Christmas’ round of gifts though possibly more useful!
* Sarah and Joe of Kingsbere Kitchen again provided a burger and hot dog lunch for the guys on Xmas Eve.
* Waitrose donated a turkey for Christmas Day lunch.
* Asda customers filled a shopping cart with food and goodies.
* Poole Contact Centre gave us shoeboxes.
* Skinner Street URC congregation and neighbours brought in parcels and presents.
* Emmanuel Middle School Verwood Yr 7 sent us sleeping bags, gifts and packed bags.
* Event Alchemy brought in filled rucksacks and biscuits.
* Two Saints donated useful items for the ladies.
* Upton Methodists donated food and hats.
* The Rucksack project gave us filled rucksacks.
* St Mary’s Catholic Church donated clothes.
* St John’s, Ashley Road gave toiletries.
The Trustees of Routes to Roots are delighted to invite you to a service of Celebration and Thanksgiving for the work being carried out in Poole to alleviate the problems facing Homeless people in our town. We will be particularly celebrating the fact that at the end of the year we were able to take 3 vulnerable individuals off the streets and offer them supported accommodation in our very own ‘Amos House’. We are excited that Pastor Pete, founder of the charity Green Pastures which made this possible, will be joining us as our guest speaker. Following the service there will be displays, videos and refreshments to enjoy. Trustees, volunteers and some of our homeless friends will all be there. PLEASE come and MEET us and PRAY with us that TOGETHER we will hear more about what GOD is calling us to do here in POOLE.
Sunday 24 January 2016, 3.00pm-5.00pm
United Reformed Church, Skinner St., Poole BH15 1RQ
This Christmas we say a fond farewell to Eddie and Sue who will be cooking Christmas Day lunch for the final time this year and ‘retiring’ from team leading and volunteering after many years of service. Thank you for all their support and kindness to our clients over the years. At this season of goodwill we also say thank you to Waitrose who donated a turkey for Christmas Day lunch, Waitrose customers who rewarded our carol singing efforts with over £150, Asda customers who filled a shopping cart with food, Poole Contact Centre for shoeboxes, and Skinner Street URC congregation and neighbours for parcels and presents for the guys.
Sue and Eddie at work on a summer BBQ for the guys
Poole Estate and Letting Agents, Carter Shaw have come up with a great idea to help the homeless. They have begun a campaign to collect old and unwanted keys to help the homeless in Poole. They have already had a good response and are hoping to roll this out as a continued campaign rather than just a Christmas idea. They have now contacted Routes to Roots to see what support they can give us. Following the launch of the campaign, they had people wanting to make cash donations, so we have sent along a collection box.
Carter Shaw, 446 Ashley Road
We have excellent news to share with you. Two rough sleepers moved into Amos House on Monday 7 December. On Monday 14 December, the third, and final tenant moved in. A long way to go for them and us but this is the beginning of a new future for the three guys. D has said that he can’t believe how great it feels to walk around town without having to carry all his worldly goods on his back.
More good news is that, thanks to all your support on the Starbucks Red Cup Challenge, we have been awarded £500 to help with the ongoing costs of keeping the house and the guys going.
We will continue to need money for this venture but want to thank you all for the support you have shown us.
Routes to Roots’ Trustees, volunteers and clients were delighted to welcome the Ven. Karen Gorham, Bishop Designate of Sherborne, at their drop-in on Thursday. Karen came to Poole specifically to meet them on the very day her appointment was announced by Number 10. This was a tremendous honour.
At the drop-in, among others, she met Steve, who spent five years sleeping on the streets before being helped into living independently by the charity – he has now lived in his own home for three years. She also met Eddie and Susan, volunteers who have cooked Christmas lunch for the clients every year for the past eight years.
Karen was also taken to Amos House, the charity’s new supported accommodation for three rough sleepers. She blessed the house, which will have its first occupants in a matter of days as final paperwork is completed.
Revd. Pat Southgate, chairman of Routes to Roots, said: “This was a wonderful day for all of us and we were really happy to be able to keep our drop-in open all afternoon for the clients. Before she left, Karen gave me an envelope, which I was delighted to find contained her completed Routes to Roots’ membership form and fee. She has also agreed to become a Patron. We look forward to seeing more of her as she settles into her new responsibilities.”
Karen’s consecration will take place on 24 February 2016 at Westminster Abbey before she joins the Diocese formally in March.
St Dunstan’s Church Youth Club members spent the night of Friday 20 November enduring a little of what our rough sleepers have to face every night. Youth worker Chris Trent (pictured left below) with Michael Tomlinson MP says: “We survived albeit a bit cold. Slept well and woke late with parents waking us up.” R2R Trustee Gabi joined them to talk about the work of Routes to Roots and share some of the guys’ stories. She says: “The young people were great, asking very sensible questions about what it was like to sleep out and how come people ended up in this situation. They were keen to hear the personal stories. It was a good evening, which the group hopes to promote to other churches and schools to get more people involved next year.”
Many thanks to Quaker Homeless Action for a grant of £3000, which will be spent on the renovation work at Amos House, our supported accommodation for three of Poole’s rough sleepers.
We still need to raise money for the ongoing costs of this housing. Want to help us win funding this Christmas? Starbucks has nominated us to make some noise and win a #RedCupGrant. Tweet @R2R_Poole with #RedCupCheer2015 up until Dec 6th and make some noise!
Please help us win funds by sharing our project on Facebook/other: #RedCupCheer.
https://www.neighbourly.com/project/5645e84e8f60fd0f204676fb/feed/
Calling all lovers of the Great British Breakfast, or croissants and pastries if you prefer.
Make a date with your friends this winter! Invite them round for breakfast in December, January or February. Ask them for a small contribution and donate the money you raise, no matter how large or small, to Routes to Roots’ annual Big Breakfast appeal.
For the sixth year, we will again join forces with the Fisherman’s Café on Poole Quay to provide rough sleepers with a hot breakfast. Last year this service cost us £3,398 to help 47 individuals on the streets of Poole. This year it could easily amount to £4000-5000, depending on the severity of the weather. The media have been speculating that we may be in for a long, bitterly cold winter because an El Niño is underway in the tropical Pacific so this service may be more vital than ever. Although the official Poole street count in November 2015 found just ten rough sleepers in the town, Routes to Roots has records on 20 people who were rough sleeping at that time – and they were only the people who came to us for help.
It costs £4.50 to provide a hot breakfast for a rough sleeper. Could you buy just one guy a breakfast for one day, or a whole week?