Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
BITS AND BOBS<br />
CHARITY BOX: LEWES OPEN DOOR<br />
<strong>Lewes</strong> Open Door<br />
first opened its door<br />
last December. Its<br />
aim, ‘to support the<br />
most vulnerable<br />
people of our community’.<br />
Based today<br />
in the Westgate<br />
Chapel on <strong>Lewes</strong><br />
High Street – and<br />
not to be confused<br />
with The Open<br />
Door complementary health centre – it runs a<br />
drop-in service every week day between 12.45pm<br />
and 2.45pm, providing a safe space for anyone who<br />
needs it. We talked to Chair, David Griffiths.<br />
Why did you set it up? Because it’s needed. Today<br />
homelessness is a growing problem everywhere.<br />
Some days only one person may turn up;<br />
sometimes there’ll be six or seven. I lived in Reigate<br />
before – I’m a retired management consultant<br />
– and helped at a winter night shelter. When<br />
I moved to <strong>Lewes</strong>, and saw an ad on Facebook,<br />
placed by <strong>Lewes</strong> Open Door founder Thomas<br />
Schorr-kon, I responded. The problem is simply<br />
that there are more people on the streets because<br />
there are fewer services. The Eastbourne<br />
and <strong>Lewes</strong> District Council have just appointed<br />
their first rough-sleep outreach officer – she’s<br />
badly needed.<br />
How is it funded and staffed? The drop-in<br />
is funded purely by donations and staffed by<br />
volunteers. We currently have 40 to 45 active<br />
volunteers. We’d welcome more. A sign outside<br />
invites people in, and word gets about. We also<br />
now have a fledgling website, and an active<br />
Facebook page. People can reach us there if<br />
they’re interested in helping or donating clothes<br />
or bedding, or of course money. Or just pop by.<br />
<strong>Lewes</strong> Open Door is constituted as a charity. We<br />
hope to become<br />
registered, though<br />
aren’t yet, as we’d<br />
like eventually<br />
to rent premises.<br />
We’re also, just now<br />
– and with winter<br />
coming – looking<br />
into the possibility<br />
of setting up a<br />
roaming shelter –<br />
offering people a<br />
roof for the night, a camp-bed, and a hot meal. I<br />
reckon five to ten people probably sleep rough in<br />
<strong>Lewes</strong> most nights. It’s perceived as a safer place<br />
to be on the streets than Brighton & Hove, which<br />
can be very violent.<br />
What does <strong>Lewes</strong> Open Door offer? A safe<br />
place for people living rough to relax, wash, enjoy<br />
food and a hot drink, and pick up clean clothes<br />
and bedding. Sadly, we don’t currently have a<br />
shower, but volunteers sometimes take clothes<br />
home to wash. And we also offer advice to anyone<br />
needing practical help – say, with applying<br />
for benefits. I can think of at least three attendees<br />
who have now referred themselves to the CGL<br />
(Change Grow Live) programme in Eastbourne.<br />
And we will help them apply for Universal Credit<br />
when that rolls out – which could be a nightmare.<br />
For one thing, it’s all online, so you need<br />
easy access to a computer or smartphone. Many<br />
don’t have that. Universal Credit looks like it’s<br />
designed for people who don’t need it.<br />
Most importantly of all, anyone dropping in will<br />
receive a warm welcome. Acceptance is the key.<br />
People’s lives can be chaotic, and they can feel<br />
judged wherever they go. We offer a place where<br />
they’re simply accepted as they are, no questions<br />
asked. Interview by Charlotte Gann<br />
fb.com/<strong>Lewes</strong>OpenDoor<br />
Photo by Katie Moorman<br />
25
Change language