We have had a very busy night down at ninety nines cafe tonight, handing out our rucksacks and getting peoples orders to them, while they redeemed their suspended meals. We had more people than ever there tonight, word is obviously spreading fast. It would be lovely if we could find more places that can offer suspended meals to people living on the streets, to take the pressure off a little and so that people all over could go somewhere to get some food. If anyone knows anywhere that may like to start doing this, or if you want to mention it next time you are at a cafe getting a coffee, that would really help. The staff at Ninety Nines work so hard to provide for these people, it would be nice if we could get other places to follow their lead. Thank you to everyone who has donated items to our campaign, to the staff at Ninety Nines and everyone who has bought a suspended meal there, also to the people who brought along cakes, sweets and other donations such as clothes and tents to Ninety Nines, they all went down a storm. If anyone else has any tents or would like to buy one and donate it to us, there is a great need for them. Once again very big thanks to Stewart from Miller Wallace Residential who came along again tonight to lend a helping hand and chat with people about different avenues they can turn down for help with housing and benefits. They do a fantastic job in the Northumberland area, rehousing people who have been or are close to being on the streets. They will also be taking in money for suspended meals at Ninety Nines from their office in Blyth, so if you live up that way and want to purchase one but are unable to get into town, you can now leave a donation with them, which will be taken to Ninety Nines on a Saturday to go towards the suspended meals. Check out their Facebook page https://m.facebook/profile.php?id=166553700198725 for more information about this and also the fantastic work they do. We had a lot of thankful people and happy faces tonight. We were able to fulfil everyones requests from last week, giving out 6 tents as well as numerous bags of clothes, food, toiletries, dog treats, shoes, coats, sleeping bags and blankets. We also managed to get some bits of camping equipment and waterproof clothes to the guys who are staying up in Westerhope. They could really do with some extra bits to keep them going, I dont know much about camping equipment but if anyone does and has anything they think would be useful to these guys, please bring it along to our base sometime this week so we can get it to them. So far they have the bare essentials, plates, tent, sleeping bags, but they could really do with anything else that can make their life a bit easier. They are also desperate for food, so if you have anything in your cupboards that you could make into a food parcel, or if you can buy a few extra bits with your weekly shop, then please do and try and get it to us before next Saturday. Thank you! Grandad Harry came along tonight, wearing his full outfit that we have to him, from head to toe. When Jules Phair commented and said to me look grandad Harry is wearing the clothes we gave him he laughed and said what else did you expect me to do with them, theyre clothes, youre meant to wear them! This tickled me, I think we were more excited to see him in them than he was! I also had the great pleasure of being able to do something a bit special for the young couple we have been getting to know since we started doing this. They are such a lovely couple, probably the most grateful, genuine people we have came across. They never ask for anything, are polite, look after the others on the street and are genuinely thankful for everything yet expect nothing from us. Last week I had £10 in my pocket and when I took my hand out the money came with it and fell on the floor. The lad stood on it and picked it up and handed it back to me. Ten minutes later he pulled me aside and told me I need to be careful having money like that on me because someone will see it and try to steal it. He told me to put it somewhere safe so it didnt go missing and to do the same with my phone. There was something so genuine about him doing this, he really wanted to take care of me and make sure I didnt have anything stolen. He could have just as easily spotted the money going back in my pocket and stole it himself, but he didnt, he wanted to make sure I didnt have it pinched. I told my husband this story when I got home, he was really touched and wanted to do something to thank him, so he is arranging for them to go for a meal the week after next and MWW will be paying for them to stay in a little b&b for the night from funds we have raised. We will also be taking the girl to a student hair salon to get her hair done for their date night and we will be sorting them some clothes to wear. We just thought it would be nice for them to have a night where they can just be a young couple and enjoy each others company, instead of worrying about how they are going to feed themselves or stay warm. They couldnt believe me when I told them this. Im not sure if they will have ever been on a date together, and the hug I received from them will stay with me forever. To see a young girl who has next to nothing get excited about being able to be a young girl and do what young girls do was unreal. I have such a soft spot for these two, theyre so in love and are literally facing everything side by side, its so beautiful but breaks my heart at the same time. I just wish we could do more for them. As we walked back down grey st to the car we seen the lad sitting at his spot, while his girlfriend stood on the other side of the road watching him begging, and hoping for someone to give him a few quid so they can call it a night and get back to their tent to warm up a bit. We stopped to chat with him again and once again he thanked us for everything we do for them and said without people like us he doesnt know where they would be. Myself and Stewart gave him the change we had and he was very hesitant to take it, telling us we are daft and we do too much for them. If anyone ever passes these two lovely souls, please say hi to them and smile as you pass, or ask if they would like a coffee or some food, they are the nicest young couple you could wish to meet. As we left Ninety Nines, one of the young lads had fell asleep in the doorway of the arcade with just a thin sleeping bag over him, Jules grabbed some blankets and sleeping bags from her van and wrapped him up, like a true mother, and made a pillow for under his head. She made sure he was tucked in and off the cold concrete and as warm as we would be able to get him, but walking away from him and leaving him there asleep, vulnerable to not only the elements but the hoards of drunk and abusive people that were likely to pass him throughout the next few hours was gut wrenching for me. Im wishing and praying with everything I have that he has a safe night and no harm comes to him. As we got back to the car, there was another lad sitting in a door way right next to it, who hadnt been at Ninety Nines. I went and sat with him and had a chat, explaining to him about Ninety Nines and our rucksacks. I told him to come along next week to get some clothes and things. He had nothing, just the clothes he was in, an empty rucksack and a thin wax jacket. Lynn Harley ran across the street to the fast food place to get him something to eat and a coffee as Stewart and I chatted with him. I asked if he had a sleeping bag or anything and he said no, but showed me his thin wax jacket and said it was fine because it kept the water off him. We didnt have any sleeping bags left and the vans had left town by this point, but Stewart remembered he had a blue duvet in the back of his car, which we had given him last week for people being rehoused. The guy was really happy when we told him, like genuinely happy, but when Stewart looked in the car, he shook his head and looked over and said you probably wont want this one, its pink the guy laughed and said mate I dont care what colour it is, Ill take it the smile on this guys face when he realised he was going to have some sort of warmth tonight, as appose to his thin jacket was amazing. He didnt care in the slightest about what it looked like or the colour, he was cold, he wanted to be warm and we were helping him to some degree. This is genuine need. I chatted with him for a bit and he told me a little about his life, how he had ended up there and what he had done before this. His marriage had broken down and he worked for his father in law, the atmosphere became so tense at work that he ended up leaving, but because he walked out of his job he can not claim jobseekers. No money means no home, no home means no job, no job means no money. Its a viscous circle, as it is for a lot of the people we deal with. He was a lovely bloke, very genuine and honest. He told me he stays away from the places that homeless people tend to frequent, because he worries that he will be drawn to drink, because of his situation he is scared he will end up drinking and he said if he had a problem with the drink as well as his other problems, he would stand no chance. He told me he gets by and he can sometimes make enough money in 3 days for a night at the backpackers in but he tends to stay away from hostels for the same reasons he stated. What a lovely bloke he was, just a normal man who has had ups and downs like each and everyone of us has, just unfortunately when he had his downs, there was nobody there to help him back on his feet so he could climb back up again. Its a story we come across all the time, for whatever reason, when they needed a friend and needed some love, theres was nobody there to give it. Every Saturday we go down and shower them in love and hopefully by doing this we can restore their faith and be the friend they needed so desperately. The last guy I met said something which made me think, as he tucked into his food that Lynn had bought for him, he looked at me and said I dont know how I ended up here, last year I was in Disney Land with my wife and kids ....That could be any one of us on this group, so please bare that in mind next time you pass someone on the streets.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 22:40:17 +0000
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