But, this is Catherine's story:-
"This Christmas, I decided to volunteer for the national charity for
homelessness, Crisis. It was the most incredible experience.
On Christmas Eve I was allocated to work in a day centre set up in a
secondary school in West London. In my team was one doctor, a
pharmacist and, of course me, the nurse. We arrived with our medical
kit and were given a spare room in which to set up a clinic. There was
instantly a frantic panic amongst some of the 'guests' (the word used to describe the homeless) who were desperate to see a doctor or nurse.
A "Thank you" from Catherine Mary Collins |
We were only there for 7 hours but in that time, as the doctor was so
busy, I treated guests with broken collar bones, some with deformed bones that had been left untreated and many, many frost bitten toes as well as the usual coughs and colds. Some had not seen a doctor since last year's Christmas at Crisis.
I met incredible characters who had been made homeless for one reason or
another, including travellers, nurses, jugglers, solicitors and web designers.
I was lucky enough to get a free meal also and this gave me an opportunity to sit down with
the guests. I met one man who had been sleeping rough for 2 years and I
was shocked to find out he was a qualified nurse. He explained to me
that at night it was too cold to sleep so he just walked around trying to keep warm to stay alive. His most precious possession was an umbrella he had found, but in fear of it being stolen, he had hidden it on the streets. He said that his worry was, that if it snowed again he might never be able to find it. Crisis had given him two new hats, one with ear flaps and he was so thrilled; this was a real chance to beat off at least some of the cold.
Other services the day centre offered included podiatry (the busiest service!), dentistry, opticians, maths lessons, haircuts, manicures and cinema rooms. Hairdressing seemed to have the most fun being able to transform people back to their youth within a few minutes of setting two with scissors and comb. After a good shave and a haircut, some of the guests looked twenty years younger when they came out of there!
On Christmas Day, as part of a larger team, I was despatched to an old warehouse in
East London set up especially for the rough sleepers. Crisis provides 350 beds
for people sleeping on the streets for the week over the Christmas period. All beds were full after just 12 hours.
As our minibus pulled up at the centre the guests surrounded us and cheered saying
'God bless you for coming to help!'- it was very moving.
The day centre on Christmas Eve had been an experience, but the East End centre was more like a vast concentration camp. We set up our clinic and a long queue formed instantly. Some were so ill they had to be blue lighted to hospital immediately.
For the second part of my shift I was sent to the dependency centre
for alcoholics and drug addicts. This was equally harrowing but of
course much livelier! It was humbling that everyone we ministered to was so grateful.
Many volunteers I met had done Crisis at Christmas year after year. I
now understand why it is such a life changing experience, not just for the guests but also the helpers.
Catherine
What a heartwarming story. Amen.
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