the phantom blogger looks around South London

Text from swirlydreamer's blog (voulenteer @ crisis) http://swirlydreamer.livejournal.com/6458.html

First of all hope everyone had a very merry xmas and that Santa was good to you! I did, although unfortunately my Dad's out of the country at the moment, so it was just me and my Mum, which was nice, then we went over to Gemma's in the evening which was lovely!

Anyway instead of listing presents and telling you how many times I got beaten playing Scrabble and stuff, I thought I'd tell you all about Crisis' Homeless Shelters around London, which I helped out at on Boxing Day and yesterday. There are 7 centres this year, accommodating about 1,500 homeless people in London over the festive period. I helped out at the South London centre, and I had a truly amazing time!

I met so many people from all walks of live, who for one reason or another had ended up homeless. I have to admit that before I went, I had preconceived ideas, e.g, all the guests would be alcoholics/druggies/gamblers/stupid/nohopers. How wrong I was. It's amazing how 2 days can completely change your outlook on life, and working for Crisis certainly did for me! I met so many wonderful people, including Kevin the poet (who wrote me a special poem...so cute it almost made me cry!) and Riley, a recent graduate from Canada who's work permit application was turned down...I also enjoyed being taught lots of card games from David, who assured me he could teach me many more but they weren't kosher! Charlie the 85 year old was also lovely, and certainly a hit with all the female volunteers! Of course there were some characters who were slightly annoying, as in all walks of life, but generally I really enjoyed just having a good old fashioned chat with people I probably wouldn't have had the chance to talk to otherwise...it was heartwarming to see all the volunteers who had given up their time over Christmas, so many fantastic people from all walks of life, including students, lawyers, journalists, shop workers, animators and so many more. All the medics and therapists who gave up their time were also incredible, and I was fortunate enough to see one gentleman get a massage, which was just so sad. He's been on the streets for many years now, and his face when he had the head massage will never leave me. He fell asleep within a couple of minutes, but he was smiling throughout. It suddenly hit me how hard life is for many of these people, relying on charities like Crisis to give them a place to stay and a hot meal when so many of us are overindulging without a thought for others.

Although the problem is relatively minor in Britain compared to other poverty stricken nations around the world, please spare a thought for the homeless on our streets. Yes many of them may be alcholics or drug addicts, but they deserve to be treated as human beings, and so many of us fail miserably to give them that basic right which all human beings deserve; respect and compassion. Crisis was fantastic, offering lots of support ranging from legal advice to housing and benefits advice to how to write CVs and fill out application forms. It is skills and advice like these which many of these people desperately need, and I believe if it is more freely available the amount of homeless people would dramatically decline.

So next time you pass a homeless person in the street, please spare a thought for them. They may have committed crimes or have horrible personal problems, but they are still people and deserve a smile or a nod from you. The people I met were just so grateful to have someone to talk to, and I know I'll be back next year. Maybe some of you will consider doing the same :) www.crisis.org.uk

If I don't write before New Year, hope 2007 is a healthy, happy and prosperous year for everyone! Much love xxx