A DOZEN kindhearted volunteers are on a mission to help Basildon’s most needy, turning out three times a week to offer food, drink, clothes and sleeping bags to those less fortunate than themselves.
Project 58:7 – named after the Old Testament verse in Isaiah which speaks of bringing “the homeless poor into your house” – is run by the interdenominational group, Basildon Churches Together.
Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday the volunteers are out, offering hot food and drink to people who are homeless or in financial difficulties.
They also have a stock of hats, gloves and sleeping bags for nights such as those we are currently getting, when the temperatures plummet.
The project started three years ago, with volunteers handing out provisions once a week outside the bell tower at St Martin’s Church, in Basildon town centre.
Demand was such, the volunteers made it three nights a week and last year, they provided about 3,200 meals to rough sleepers.
Volunteer Hazel Banks, 53, from Benfleet, said: “One man who came to us said it was the first meal he had had in four days.”
Her husband and fellow volunteer Keith Banks, 69, said: “It is not just about providing people with food. We form friendships with them, so they feel they can contact us whenever they need help.
“It is about helping homeless people in the long term, in the hope that we can help them off the streets.”
The project also offers practical support such as help with job applications, housing, medical advice and information about benefits.
Volunteer David McLean, 75, from Billericay, said: “People are in need and we have an instinct to do what we can to help them. We feel responsible.
“We visited one man when he was in hospital. A lot of the time these people have no one.”
Speak with volunteers and those who rely on the project, and you will quickly realise homelessness really can happen to practically anyone.
Most of those who turn to the project’s for help have taken to the street because of failed relationships, broken-down family connections or simply because they can no longer pay the rent.
Leanne Simmonds, 26, from Basildon, relies on Project 58:7 for hot meals, as she can no longer afford electricity at her home.
She said: “I apply for jobs here, there and everywhere, but nothing comes of it. I can’t always rely on my family, because they are in the same situation as me, so sometimes, I depend on this food if I am really struggling.”
“I think it is wonderful what they do for us here.”
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