Hackney Winter Night Shelter is a project run by volunteers that provides basic accommodation in church halls around Hackney for up to 25 homeless people during the coldest months of the year. We aim to provide a warm welcome, a hot evening meal, a bed for the night and breakfast in the morning for our homeless guests. In addition, the Night Shelter employs workers to help our guests find more long-term accommodation. The Shelter will open on the 2nd November this year. Many volunteers, both church members and from the wider community, will help to run the shelter. Our contribution at St Mary’s is to host the Shelter in our church rooms each Wednesday night from late December to the end of March. We need volunteers in various roles: to help set up the shelter, cook and serve supper, stay overnight, and to cook breakfast and clear up in the morning. Could you help? If you are interested, please get in touch with our volunteer team coordinator, Jonathan Gebbie at [email protected] or on 07949-169583. We particularly need people who could help in the morning or volunteer to occasionally do an overnight shift.

There are also opportunities to help at other Shelter venues around Hackney on other nights of the week from the beginning of November - please get in touch if you’re interested. There is more information about the Night Shelter on the web site here.