During the coronavirus pandemic, everything has changed for us, but also for some of the most vulnerable people in society. Whilst many services for homeless people have been stepped up including the Care Shelter moving to a hotel, there are still a number of people who for one reason or another cannot access these services and need the help of a service like the Bethany Care Van, which provides food, a hot drink and a daily connection.

The reflections of one of our recent volunteers is as follows:

I was out on the evening care van last week and it was really quiet in the city but it broke my heart to see the people on the street. Most of the people we met were really hungry and very vulnerable - older alcoholics, people with challenging lives - poor mental health or learning support needs to name a few, not the usual mixed crowd at all. I think anyone who was able to stay away did, which left us with the people who either couldn't stay away or couldn't understand why they should stay away. It was really peaceful though - everyone was really grateful and the soup was amazing (a meal in a cup). Our last stop was really unusual - North Bridge was dead, but there was a small group of 7 people sheltered in a doorway waiting for us, clearly intending to sleep there that night. We literally offloaded as many rolls as they could take. I was glad we went out - but was really struck that if any of the people we met was exposed to coronavirus it would literally be the end of them.

St Mungos' provides two teams a month - on the second Monday of the month and the fourth Thursday evening. Due to the current COVID 19 situation, many of our usual volunteers are not able to volunteer, so we are looking for some additional volunteers. All new volunteers go out as a team of three with experienced team members. If you would like to know more or have a chat please contact Emma Galloway directly or via enquiries@stmungos.org.

Emma