"I'd like to say I am very grateful to you all. You really do make a massive difference difference to those that you help. I have been one of them many times especially during lockdown and really am so grateful. It's not just the food, it's the kindness, being treated and spoken to like a human being, helping people get dental treatment, haircuts and people get to chat and catch up with each other, anything you can help with you will. What you all do is genuinely life saving. Thank you ”
HOMELESS CHARITY BECOMING HOMELESS
Due to unforeseen circumstances Newbury Soup Kitchen has been given notice to leave our Operational Unit in Newbury from mid-March 2025.
We are in desperate need of new accommodation to house our Commercial kitchen, food storage, offices and parking for our two vehicles.
This is the opportunity to find a space to move all our services under one roof to the centre of the town. We are reaching out to our local community for help to us find a suitable location and to help with fundraising for increased rental costs when they come.
Founder and CEO, Meryl Praill said: “This is the beginning of a new chapter for Newbury Soup Kitchen, we look forward to the future and expanding our charity to enable us to provide all our services in one place.”
We would like to wholeheartedly thank SWIFT Logistics for the kindness and support we have received to date, with this we have been able to grow and provided the bespoke services, help, food and support for people in our community experiencing homelessness and who are vulnerably housed.
Please contact Meryl Praill CEO and Founder
meryl@newburysoupkitchen.org.uk
“ It’s ironic that a charity that helps the homeless is potentially becoming homeless itself and we at Greenham Trust are doing all we can to help identify a new building for them to occupy. If any building owners have a building that might be suitable then please let us or Newbury Soup Kitchen know.” Chris Boulton CEO Greenham Trust
We would like to thank each and every sponsor and supporter who has helped with food donations, storage facilities, items and more....
On 6th and 7th July a team of NSK volunteers will embark on the National Three Peaks Challenge, setting themselves 24 hours to climb Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon – the three highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales. Your support will help fund the work of NSK which changes lives, often saving lives.
Our arms and doors are open to all.
We provide a comprehensive hot meal provision, a friendly face and welcome opportunity to sit chat, offload and feel safe. A warm welcome awaits anyone wishing to socialise, find support, enjoy a fresh cooked hot meal and interact with likeminded people.
THURSDAY sessions at the Salvation Army also offer haircuts, Samaritans, drug and alcohol outreach, Community Nurse, fuel debt outreach. This is to compliment the other basic provisions and amenities such as shower and laundry tokens, Foodbank referral, toiletries, emergency food/kettle hot water packs, tents, sleeping bags warm clothes to name a few. If a person comes to us with a problem, if we cannot help, we will find someone who can. We rent the Salvation Army Hall Newbury Soup Kitchen is independent of the Salvation Army.
TUESDAYS: We provide individual outreach services where our clients can access Optometry services free of charge. Oue wonderful Community Nurse comes 2-4pm on a Tuesday to support homeless, vulnerable clients who may not find it easy to engage with traditional medical routes. This bespoke support highlights serious health issues and illnesses that may have gone undiagnosed.
These services are essential to start the journey of engagement, building trust with our clients and making a difference to people who perhaps no hope in life. Newbury Soup Kitchen works hard to give back HOPE.
WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAYS: We have a wonderful food truck that is loaded with all the provision required to support people who are rough sleeping, sofa surfing and vulnerably housed. The service is held from The Wharf 6-7pm on Wednesdays and 5-6pm on Saturdays. A hot meal and takeaway parcel are available for all. The food like a Thursday is cooked fresh by qualified volunteers from fresh donated food from local supermarkets.
We are busy every day outside our food sessions. We have a wonderful network of volunteers who provide support with housing, benefits applications, fuel debt support and day to day issues that arise.
Support from our local community is Key and we are proud that Will Young (Singer & Actor) is our Patron.
Will says “I’m so thrilled and honoured to become a patron of Newbury Soup Kitchen. Having lived near Newbury my entire life to be able to be part of an incredible organisation and bring support to the local homeless people fills me with deep humility”
Whilst we are fortunate enough to have use of the Salvation Army facilities on a Thursday evening (Wednesday & Saturdays are mobile with a slightly reduced menu – operating out of our catering van at the Wharf)
we are keen to expand our offering – but this requires dedicated premises. We are actively searching for premises in the Newbury area and our fundraising efforts assist in supporting this effort. Our vision is to provide a community centre where our clients can be assisted in a safe environment 365 days a year.
Trauma can have a profound impact on a person’s life. It plays a significant and often overlooked role in the intersection of mental health, addiction, and homelessness. For many individuals, deep-seated emotional wounds become the catalyst for a devastating cycle of mental health disorders, substance abuse, and ultimately, homelessness. Conditions such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) frequently arise from unresolved trauma, leading many to seek relief through substance use. This self-medication, however, often exacerbates the issues, spiralling into full-blown addiction and further diminishing overall well-being ….Read More
The scale of homelessness Nationally is extremely difficult to count and establish. Homelessness comes in many forms which many do not realise. Rough sleepers are the visible homeless but there are people trapped and living a life of homelessness away from the community eye in temporary accommodation, hostels, people’s sofas or floors and night shelters.
Hidden homelessness, known as sofa surfing, is incredibly difficult to count and impossible to quantify as people stay with friends or relatives out of sight and often do not consider themselves to be homeless and do not contact local authorities or charities………..
The annual rough sleeping snapshot provides the government’s estimate for how many people were rough sleeping on a given night in Autumn 2023. It shows:
“People sleeping, about to bed down (sitting on/in or standing next to their bedding) or actually bedded down in the open air (such as, on the streets, in tents, doorways, parks, bus shelters or encampments). People in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as stairwells, barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, stations, or ‘bushes’).
The definition does not include people in hostels or shelters, sofa surfers, people in campsites or other sites used for recreational purposes or organised protests, squatters, or Travellers sites.
In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, as we went into lockdown, something extraordinary happened. However, the policy of housing everyone during the pandemic is ending. Only emergency action will stop a rise in first-time rough sleepers. Click Here for the FULL Guardian Article
What is the link between mental health and substance misuse?
When a person has both a substance abuse addiction and a mental health issue such as bipolar disorder, depression or anxiety, it is called a dual diagnosis or co-occurring disorder. Dealing with substance abuse, alcoholism, or drug addiction is incredibly difficult and known for destroying relationships, jobs and mental health…….. Read More
