February 2020

70 Wanstead Village Directory
Wanstead Night Shelter
The Wanstead Winter Night Shelter launched at Christ Church hall last
month. Revd Canon Ann Clarke reports on the largely volunteer work that
has made it such a useful resource for their weekly guests
Steven Timms, MP for East Ham,
acknowledged recently that if it were
not for Faith Group Night Shelters,
2,200 more people would be sleeping on
the streets of London each night.
As part of Forest Churches Emergency Night
Shelter (FCENS), Wanstead Parish opened its
parish hall doors on 7 January to guests for
the very first time. We were able to provide
our visitors with a welcoming hot drink, a
nourishing hot meal, shelter and breakfast,
and a listening ear and a smile.
Thanks to the financial support from
our crowdfunding supporters and Aviva
employees, £8,491 was the official sum raised,
including £2,000 from the Aviva Community
Fund. We were able to purchase a dedicated
warming oven, fridge, new dishwasher, oven
and microwave in time for the opening of
the shelter, as well as room dividers, sleeping
bags, food, storage equipment and a key fire
safety system – a mandatory requirement for
having guests sleep overnight.
The generosity of the local community has
been overwhelming: in volunteering (40-plus
people on the current rota); in donations
from our Christmas services; and in donations
of clothing and food from our Reverse
Advent Calendar. Special thanks to Lizi at The
Cuckfield and John at Petty Son and Prestwich
for collecting so much and for supporting
this venture.
Wanstead Parish has joined FCENS, which
has a well-established scheme. A full-time
worker, Tunde, works all year round with the
homeless men and women in Waltham Forest
and beyond. All guests are known by him and
he attends each shelter to register them. There
is also a paid worker, Anthony, who attends
each shelter to help run the night shift with a
volunteer. All other workers are volunteers.
Our team begins at 6pm each Tuesday to
set up the hall, putting out the bedding and
tables and being there to greet and engage
with the guests. Teams of three or four people
provide a nourishing hot meal and another
group of volunteers serve and clear up. The
volunteer night watch person arrives at 9pm.
At 5.50am the breakfast team arrive and the
guests leave by 7am. Due to the amazing
amount of good quality clothing and new
items, such as underpants, socks, hats, shoes
and toiletries donated by the community, we
have also been able to send our guests on
their way with a much-needed care package.
Wanstead Parish considers it a privilege to
be running this shelter once a week during
the winter months. We see it as being part
of our Christian duty to home the homeless,
feed the hungry and clothe the naked. We
would like to thank so many members of our
wider community for helping us to offer this
important community resource.
The Wanstead Winter Night Shelter is open
at Christ Church hall every Tuesday until
31 March. Call 020 8530 8743
To advertise, call 020 8819 6645 or visit wnstd.com