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Good morning here is an update on Saturday nights food/clothes drop from Rachel.
"HAVE YOU GOT ANY LEGGINGS"
I cooked all afternoon then had a mad rush to get all the dinners dished up and boxed up (including one gluten free meal) I picked Emma up with her two huge sacks full of clothes and food Emma's 4 year old son helps her prepare food every week and she tells him all about homeless people and the work she does.
We drove to the usual meet up point but i had been unable to get J on her phone which was strange ( more later ) and Matt was gathering rough sleepers on his way through town so we had no helpers . Eventually Kerrie and Shane and a couple of rough sleepers arrived to help us.
We got to the square to find a few waiting for us and we started to set up suddenly we were surrounded by people wanting food , clothes and sleeping bags. A lot of hungry people and word was starting to spread about what we were doing.
As we were setting up I noticed J who I tried to call earlier, looking very worse for the wear I was shocked to be honest , she then burst into tears and Matt comforted her. I sat her down with a coffee and said i will spend time with you once we have dealt with the rush. Thankfully Josie arrived and took over looking after J for me it turned out her father had just died and naturally she was distraught. Josie did a fantastic job looking after her until we were able to come back to her later.
We started handing food out and told the people wanting clothes blankets etc that they would have to wait until we finished then we would go to the car . if it was special requests from Thursday we had with us in the square. despite being told this we were bombarded with " have you got any leggings" have you been to the car yet" my boyfriend needs shoes " to which we repeatedly replied yes we will get later.
P was waiting in the square and i hadn't seen him for ages so i was happy to see him and he was happy i had sent him a text and bought him chocolate and lemonade.he likes to feel special .
the problem was P wanted to talk and he can talk for England , so i asked if he could sit down and i would chat later as he wasn't in need he just wanted conversation.
I made the mistake of telling him that his photo had received lots of comments and Emma could show him the photo on her phone , oh dear he wanted to not only read but discuss all 67 comments . poor Emma she was also fending of the " have you got any leggings " lady every few seconds with a smile on her face all the time.
C arrived and i said wheres L i have clothes for her he looked at me sad and said can i talk to you please. so i got him a meal and sat on the floor with him . safe in the knowledge Kerrie Shane and Thorlock were dealing with food.
he said L had been sent to prison for 5 months and was naturally very upset and said he didn't think he could function without her.he discussed getting arrested himself so he could go to prison as well i pointed out this wouldn't help. he was very lost and upset and i have made arrangements to meet him in the week to see how we can help him . i also told him how he could get in touch with us and gave him a sleeping bag. whilst chatting to him D came along and introduced himself as he knows Anastasia. and wants to help the group . we exchanged numbers and he proved to be invaluable later .
i then fed a few more and gave P copious amounts of tea, only refusing him when we had packed up for the walk .
the elderly lady told me about one of our helpers she had met before and how lovely she was . so thanks Amanda for doing out reach on Friday for us.
I then spoke to K who doesn't normally come to the square but had requested a sleeping bag Thursday so came to collect. we had a nice chat and i gave him food. i noticed a little later he wasn't eating i asked why not he then told me he was very ill and needed a doctor. he has promised to go Monday and we swapped numbers so i can call him Monday to see how he is and we will catch up with him on Tuesday on out reach as well.
The man with the gluten free meal thanked me and was thrilled he had gluten free sandwiches biscuits and chocolate he left with a big smile on his face, Hes a lovely guy.
There were a lot of new faces last night some very young and I estimate about 25 or possibly more came to the square.
I know we had approx 45/48 meals and i was told later they ran out on the walk . there had been a soup kitchen earlier in the evening, but clearly these people are hungry.
We were still being asked the question" have you got any leggings " and have you been to the car yet" so we decided to pack up the guys for the walk and set them off on their way . thank you K T and S
we were then going to head to the car to supply the large amount of ppl who wanted supplies. however before that we needed to attend to J who was still very distraught. . we tried to stand her up to walk to the car but she collapsed so we left her with Josie and D and said we would bring car to her.
i opened the " shop " at the car and most people took what they needed and left, but the leggings and shoes girls wanted to look in every bag . eventually i had to say ok that's it we have to go. they did have bags full of clothes by then.
we said goodbye to Paul who was excited as he is going to come and do a radio interview with us on Tuesday and he had a whole set of new clothes, and im washing his trainers
we drove to get J and D carried her to the car Matt and Josie piled in and we drove to where J and hubby sleep . this is where i had to say an emotional goodbye to J . its 7 years tomorrow since my own father died suddenly so i know exactly how she feels. she just kept saying i love you and Anastasia . we left her with the AMAZING Josie and Matt who later text to say they had found husband and they were looking after them . thank you Josie and Matt .
Emma and i had one more job before we headed home and me to work .
A one of the rough sleepers likes to see a face he knows on the walks so we took his food to him , i waited in the car whilst Emma ran to him and had a quick chat .
An interesting chaotic but very rewarding evening. lots of follow ups and some appeals to your good selves to follow .
but for now have a lovely day and if you see a rough sleeper smile say hello buy a drink , have a chat they love to talk .
Rachel
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