Homelessness Sunday 2023

Homelessness has been a growing crisis throughout the country for many years now. Cambridge is one of the most divided cities in terms of poverty and wealth. We know that just handing out cash to people on the street is not the answer, but this may leave us feeling at a loss as to how we can help.

Here are three ways we can respond to the needs we see around us:

1. Pray

We have a God who has a heart for the vulnerable and the marginalised, and who delights in hearing our requests and petitions. So, we can go to him in prayer and ask him to help those who are homeless. Maybe each time you see or meet someone who is living on the streets you could pray for them. We can of course also stop and talk with people on the street, buy them some food, and get to know them.

Pray for the many staff and volunteers working with homeless individuals.

Pray too for our local council here in Cambridge to have wisdom as they think about how to help the homeless community in our city.

2. Donate

Wintercomfort are a local charity working with homeless people. They operate a support hub which is open all year round. This aims to encourage and empower homeless individuals to overcome disadvantage and to make positive, long term changes to improve their lives. In the midst of the cost-of-living crisis, demand for their services has never been higher.

We have asked how we can support the work they do. At this time, they would particularly value donations of food especially:

Tins of fruit
Tinned vegetables
Tins of cooked meat (ham, steak)
Tins or tuna
Packets or rice and pasta (larger ones for use at the centre)
Packs of microwave rice
Pot noodles or supernoodles
Jars of pasta sauce
Breakfast cereals

It is also possible to contribute financially to the work of Wintercomfort, either as a one-off or regular gift.

3. Volunteer

Wintercomfort run a number of amazing projects to support vulnerable people in Cambridge and there are varied opportunities to volunteer as helpers on these projects. Regular volunteers are also needed to provide day to day support both with practical tasks and chatting to people. Contact volunteers@wintercomfort.org.uk to find out more.

There are also other organisations working in this area such as: