Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter

A person who has been made homeless faces enormous risks as a rough sleeper including substance abuse, poor physical and mental health, and acts of criminality. (Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter)ECWNS seeks to minimize these risks by creating a safe space for homeless people to find temporary respite while helping them to secure more permanent accommodation. More info on https://ecwns.org.uk

5 GoodGymers have supported Ealing Churches Winter Night Shelter with 1 task.


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MadhanSevanKashHarvey Gallagher

Bed-der than ever

Saturday 18th November 2023

Written by Madhan

Harvey and I arrived *earlier and were catching up as it's been some time since I last saw him. He was saying it was 'his' church as the initials of the Haven Green church matched his name. Soon Kash and Sevan arrived with coffee in hand after completing a morning mission. We waited for Rohan, then dropped a message and went inside the church.

When we entered the large hall, we could see a few volunteers unloading the beds, bedsheets, pillows, and duvets, to name a few from the loft. A guy was taking out everything from the loft and passing over to the people via a ladder. Kash noticed that guy and said that it was Rohan. Harvey and I haven't met Rohan before so we couldn't recognize him. He was the first one to arrive as he arrived 15 earlier and jumped right into the task.

Yvonne asked us to make 16 pillow cases with each pillow case consisting of a duvet cover, a bedsheet, and a waterproof bed cover. She also asked to match the color/look if possible for aesthetic reasons. Sevan and I were on the pillow cover duty. We had to make 7 batches of them as the winter shelter will happen across 7 churches in Ealing and each church will have 16 sets of everything.

Harvey was folding the blankets and arranging them on his own. Rohan and Kash were unfolding and arranging the foldable beds. After an hour of dealing with beds, blankets, and pillows, Harvey decided to take a nap on one of the beds, and his wish was granted soon.

Yvonne, before leaving, asked us to do a quality check on the beds to see if they were fitted properly. Everyone enjoyed lying on the bed and verifying if the bed was sturdy enough as we don't want the guests to deal with broken beds and backs.

The team then walked to a coffee shop to warm themselves before covering their shoes with mud at West Ealing.

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