More than soup – Kindness
17th October 2021
More than just soup – Kindness More than just soup – Kindness Blog No 11Sandra one of our wonderful volunteers sharing her story and what
Who Are We & What Do We Do ?
Newbury Soup Kitchen is a voluntary organisation providing help and support to our homeless, our rough sleeper community, our vulnerable and those generally less fortunate than others. The primary operation started as a friendly drop-in centre each and every Thursday where we welcomed vulnerable adults who perhaps had mental health issues or were just lonely. We have now expanded our services to three evenings per week – Wednesdays and Saturdays at the Wharf and Thursdays at the Salvation Army.
Our arms & doors are open to all. We provide hot food for the evening, a friendly face and a welcome opportunity to chat. A warm welcome awaits anyone wishing to socialise, find support, enjoy a hot meal and interact with like-minded people. Our Thursday sessions at the Salvation Army also offer Hair Cuts, Covid Jabs when appropiate/ testing (by arrangement) & access to basic provisions & amenities such as Shower and laundry coupons, Food bank tokens, toiletries. If there is a need – we find a way to fulfil it!
We also provide an invaluable outreach service each Tuesday where our clients can access Optometry services free of charge and also have access to a community Nurse. These services are essential to start the journey of engagement, building up trust with our clients and more often than not highlighting serious health issues.
The team are non-judgemental and are always there to hold a hand, guide, support and listen.
Whilst we do not offer a daily service, we are busy every day as we operate solely through our wonderful network of volunteers, this could involve plumbing in a washing machine for a client that we have just helped to find accommodation for, dropping off a much needed hot meal to a client in temporary accommodation through to collecting food supplies from our very supportive local community.
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.
Weekly Reports
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Fundraising Events
Fundraising Ideas…?
3rd April 2020
We are always on the look out for new and interesting fundraising ideas and support. Whether your office or business can host some form of coffee morning, or whether your local pub or restaurant can host a quiz evening – we are always searching for new and interesting approaches.
News
Do we know many people are homeless in West Berkshire and the UK?
30th August 2021
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
Appeal
COVID-19 – Urgent Appeal
3rd April 2020
Whilst we continue to use the Amazon Wishlist as a central point for seeking donations, but we are also looking for items not listed such as Pot Noodles and Pasta Pots (and similar).
How Can You Donate ?
Donate Now...
There are a number ways to donate right now. The benefits are significant and often immediate to the users of the Soup Kitchen.
Donate Now
How Can You Help ?
Volunteers...
Our volunteers assist in varying roles, each playing a valuable part in the service provision. If you can help, or have a specific talent - contact us now....
Learn More
Sponsors & Supporters
Thank You !
We would like to thank each and every sponsor and supporter who has helped with food donations, storage facilities, items and more....
Thank You
Contact Us
Opening Hours
The Soup Kitchen is open for a take away food and outreach service on Thursdays 6 – 7pm and Outreach on Tuesday 2-4pm at the Salvation Army Hall in Northcroft Lane, Newbury. Also, we provide a limited offering on Wednesday 5:45-6:45pm and Saturday 5-6PM in The Newbury Wharf..
Contact Us
National Rough Sleeper Crisis
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………..
There were 2,688 people estimated to be sleeping rough on a single night in autumn 2020 in England. This was a decrease of 1,578 people or 37 % decrease from 2019 and an increase of 920 people or 52 % increase since 2010.
This year’s rough sleeping snapshot coincided with a national lockdown throughout November and the tier restrictions in October. This is likely to have impacted people’s risk of rough sleeping and should be noted when comparing this year’s annual snapshot figures with previous years.
Over the past few months there have been a lot of questions about the impact of the pandemic on homelessness trends. These are not straight forward questions to answer, but this week has seen the release of two data sets that provide us with a more accurate picture of who is facing homelessness in England and the main causes since March 2020. Click here fo more info from Crisis
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
There were an estimated 778 deaths of homeless people in England and Wales registered in 2019, an increase of 7.2% from 2018 when there were 726 estimated deaths. Most of the deaths in 2019 were among men (687 estimated deaths; 88.3% of the total). Click Here for Info