Host our night shelter
Does your church have a hall that could provide a safe and friendly overnight home for some of South London’s homeless people?
St. Paul’s Herne Hill setting up bedding for winter night shelter.
If you are able to offer a warm and dry space for one night a week during the winter, this could be a truly rewarding experience. We often hear that taking part in Robes can really bring a congregation together, or help a church create more of a presence in the wider community. We couldn’t do what we do without help from churches like yours. Working together, we can help turn lives around.
Join our team of partner churches
Our partner churches are providing night shelters at two venues every night from November to April. We give thirty-five people a warm bed each night of the winter.
We current have around thirty churches of all denominations who have put their faith into action by hosting our shelter, and we are looking for more.
Hosting churches:
1. Ace of Clubs
2. All Saints Clapham Park
3. Bermondsey Central Methodist Church
4. Chatsworth Baptist
5. Christ Church Clapham
6. Christ Church Southwark
7. Copleston Church
8. Finnish Church
9. Holy Spirit Clapham
10. Holy Trinity Clapham
11. Montgomery Hall
12. Mostyn Road
13. New Park Road Baptist
14. Norwegian Church
15. Salvation Army, Elephant and Castle
16. St. Anne and All Saints
17. St. George the Martyr
18. St. John the Divine
19. St. John’s East Dulwich
20. St. John’s Waterloo
21. St. Luke’s Peckham
22. St. Luke’s West Norwood
23. St. Mary Magdalen
24. St. Matthew’s at the Elephant
25. St. Michael’s Stockwell
26. St. Paul’s Clapham
27. St. Paul’s Herne Hill
28. St. Peter’s Vauxhall
29. St. Peter’s Walworth
“Once it became known what we were doing we had offers of help from across the community. Many of our volunteers were not members of the church and it was wonderful to be able to build these links.
— Reverend David Vyvyan
How you can help
We will support you in running your space as a shelter on your night of the week. Your volunteers and guests will come together at dinner time as a family for the evening, breaking bread and sharing cheer.
Members of your church will be able to participate in the following roles:
Team Leader, who will be your key contact with us
Shift Leader, who will help keep your shelter running smoothly
Shelter Volunteers, who will help out in the morning and evening
And, if needed, we usually have extra volunteers on hand
The practicalities
Hosting homeless people brings both challenges and rewards. We will provide lots of training and support to help you;
Open your doors for one night a week
From at least 7pm-8am
Cook and serve dinner and breakfast to your guests
(we may be able to provide some ingredients and funding if needed)Generally for 8 of the winter weeks
Store our bedding during those weeks
What do you think? If you’re keen to help but there’s something you’re feeling a bit daunted by, we can normally find a solution, so do get in touch.
