Earlier this week we welcomed Claire Wright, Community Relations Manager for Exeter’s local homelessness charity St Petrock’s, who gave an important talk about her work as part of a team supporting rough sleepers.
Claire explained a day in the life of many of the charity’s volunteers: they deliver cooked breakfasts, run the centre so people can come in and get hot showers and wash their clothes and sleeping bags, and provide other short term assistance, as well as offering longer term support to help people get off the streets. To illustrate their work, she also shared former client Alfie’s poignant story, who turned his life around with the aid of St Petrock’s.
The assembly was a huge insight into homelessness and girls came away with a greater understanding of many aspects of rough sleeping, such as how people can be homeless but not necessarily on the street (for example, sleeping on friends’ sofas), the variety of misconceptions around why people end up homeless, and how the charity tackles women’s safety on the streets.
For anyone interested in more information, please do go to the St Petrock’s website for more details about how best to support the charity and the homeless population. You can also access the charity’s Amazon wish list which compiles items they are in need of: currently, they are looking for sleeping bags, rucksacks, daysacks, 32-36 inch men’s jeans and men’s boxer shorts.
