BACA has returned to our community centre to serve food for the homeless. We have reduced our days to 4 days a week with a hot meal service now being served from 6pm on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Our Meals for the homeless project had taken place on the car park of the Prince of Wales Pub during the COVID-19 lockdown. But since the easing of lockdown measures on we have been back at Clementswood Community centre.
To keep users and deliverers of the service safe we ask all visitors to wear masks and now provide free masks to those without. We ask anyone entering the building to sanitize their hands and operate a one-way scheme. Social distancing is maintained as best as possible and Westminster drug project are helping with free counselling and addiction rehabilitation services which they provide every Wednesday.
So far the service has not received any complaints and in fact continues to have the favour of the local community. Many local people drop clothes and food to the centre for distribution.
Hannah Chowdhry, has been helping our volunteers with the administration and some advice during on-line safeguarding and food safety courses. Clementswood Community centre has been open for two hours a day for pre-booked cyber-cafe allocations for job searching. We have also been running a daily foodbank which is operated via a booked slot for one person at a time.
Hannah Chowdhry, said:
“We are still receiving a lot of homeless people at the centre for our food services.
“Some of them are back on the streets rough-sleeping and others are new to the area.
“We appreciate all the food donations that people are providing to help the operation continue.
“In tandem with our food distribution we have set Bibles on our tables for people to take for some spiritual food – it has been heartening to see many of them being collected.”
Our work for the homeless and deprived in Clementswood Ward, Ilford, that has 2 Lower Super Output Areas (LSOA) within the worst 10% of the indices of deprivation in the UK, could not operate without your help. We need your help with food and fiscal donations to keep our centre running. If you would like to help donate to our work please (click here)
