Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Night at the Shelter
Most of you know that I've been spending one night a week
at the "Night Shelter" for destitute asylum seekers. I'll admit that I'm finding the all-nighters
much more physically wearing than when I worked the reception desk at the Moody
resident halls ten years ago. A subtle reminder that
I'm no longer (edit: soon not to be) in my 20s?
Brian has done a brilliant job organising a motley crew
of volunteers so that destitute asylum seekers don't have to spend a night
out -- quite literally -- in the cold.
Losing a bit of sleep each week seems insignificant compared to the value of this
service.
On Monday night, I had a good chat with a Middle Eastern
man who has been staying in the Night Shelter for over a month now. He is fed up with his situation and is
considering returning home. He told me
that he phoned a friend from his city, "He told me that I might be safe now if I went back. I'm really scared, but I have no future
here. I can't spend the rest of my life
sleeping in the Night Shelter. A life
without a chance for a job or family is no life at all. I might have to take my chances back
home? Maybe God will look after
me?"
We talked for a while about his options, then eventually
went to sleep. In the morning, he told
me what a thought was a lovely compliment as well as summarising the value of
the Night Shelter, "I know I have somewhere to stay, but I also know there
will be people here who I can talk to. I
am treated like a real person!" Though a devout Muslim, he tole me that he felt stronger knowing that the Christians who help at the shelter were praying for him.
Last week, I took a number of pictures with my mobile
during my Night Shelter routines. They are bit "general" as I need
to respect the confidentiality of the people staying there, but I thought these
pictures might help you to visualise what happens...
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| First, we make our way to Glasgow Central Station, not far from where the Night Shelter is located. |
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| At 8pm, we meet our service users under the big telly in the station. |
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We
all walk together to the Night Shelter, more for the sake of safety than
anything else.. As you can see, it's a bit off the beaten track and
people have been assaulted here before.
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| Inside the Night Shelter; mats and sleeping bag packed away while the guys eat their dinner. |
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| A stack of sleeping mats. The guys tell me they're pretty comfortable. |
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| Peep hole on the front door. Sometimes people show up during the wee hours of the night -- usually folk who use the Homelessness Shelter on the other side from us, run by the Glasgow City Mission. A very different client base, where underlying issues of homelessness can be addiction, substance abuse, or serious mental health problems (destitute asylum seekers, generally, are homeless for reasons totally outside their control; one woman we know has a PhD in Science and if allowed to work, would easily find a job). The Glasgow City Mission do great work in this area and we're happy to be partnered with them. |
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| Fancy a cuppa? We have a good store cupboard of donations so the destitute can have some good food to eat; even have the chance to read the paper with a cup of coffee. Something that I do everyday is a real luxury for these. |
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| Lights out, with the exception of this desk lamp. Just enough light so I can see if anything happens or one of the guys needs to get up to use the wash room. Notice the large flask -- a bit of coffee helps me make it through the night awake! |
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Love it! Thanks for the pictures Paul.
