Maidstone Outreach

Saturday night Brian and I went to Maidstone for our usual Soup run. Our starting point was by the church at the bottom of town. Drinks, food, toiletries, underwear and Easter eggs were given out to our friends. It wasn't too busy, so we were able to have a good natter - Brian has been volunteering with us for a few months now, and he has gone from just making hot drinks, to now chatting confidently & with great compassion to the people we meet. Volunteering not only helps those we see, but can have a positive impact on those who do it . 😊😊 We walked up through town and had a good chat with some of our regulars. A new lady was desperate for food, toiletries and sanitary wear - I can't imagine what being a lady on her period without sanitary wear and items to clean yourself must be like... Liz says it must be one of the most degrading parts of being homeless. Everyone seems to be very hungry on a Saturday night. I'm glad we had sandwiches soup snacks pastries and chocolate. We are seeing more people every week and they are learning to trust us (and they love getting new socks on a Saturday !) - - they know we will be there every week, and all we want to do is offer a bit of support, we have also signposted some of them to MADM. A brilliant homeless organisation in Maidstone. Amanda and her team are amazing and do everything they can to help others... advice /practical items/courses for mind and spirit .. all while trying to raise funds for a permanent shelter. We are proud to be working with them On the way home we shot to Rochester and Chatham and handed out hot drinks and essentials to some of our familiar homeless friends - orders were taken for items to be distributed at the Soup Kitchen . I hope you all know how grateful we are for your support - in the past week we have some beautiful messages of Congratulations after The Pride in Medway Award, we don't take any of it for granted TGWO Darren