I always thought that I was a pretty clued up person. I had a good education and worked hard, I try and keep up with what is going on in the world and enjoy watching debate shows (yep, this 19 year-old really has been living the high life, ahem). Not only has this year challenged me and shaped me and forced me into maturity, but it has shocked me, awakened me and stirred me to do more in my community, in London, and in the world. Being a Webber Street for three days at the end of February was a defining moment for me and a real highlight of my first six months of my gap year simply because it threw me into a world I thought I knew enough about and I came out wondering how on earth I had been so ignorant.
Webber Street (
http://webberstreet.org/) is London City Mission's homeless day centre based in Waterloo. Every morning at 9am, around 75-80 homeless men and women (who they lovingly call 'guests') walk through their doors and receive free breakfast and the opportunity to sign up for a shower. The staff are seen busying around until the doors shut at 12pm getting the guests appointments at jobcentres around London, helping sort out travel loans or accommodation and feeding the extra hungry with Pret-A-Manger sandwiches (which are donated every day). Not only that, Webber Street offers genuine care and friendship for those who need it most, and of course, they offer up the opportunity for them to hear the gospel before they tuck into breakfast. Webber Street also has an attached work called Hope Community Homes which can house up to six former rough sleepers, where the staff will support them through getting benefits, jobs, and even helping them on the road to recovery from addiction until they are ready to live life independently. This is a brief overview of all the amazing work it does, but even that is enough to inspire me.
Working there was an absolute pleasure (besides the pungent smell) because the staff so obviously cared about the needs of even the most tricky guest. Many of the guests speak broken English yet there were great attempts to have understanding. Some guests were demanding and forgetful, with staff members making appointments for them which they never turned up to, or complained about the location of, yet my observation was that the staff were forgiving and accommodating and well as being disciplined and firm. On my first day I was shadowing someone, which involved helping to serve breakfast and going through an incredibly long-winded and complicated process to get them an appointment with the exact jobcentre of their choice which was demanded through someone else due to their lack of English. It was a Tuesday, where in the afternoon they show a film for as many guests as want a ticket, which also guarantees them a Pret provided lunch. It was amazing to see the simple power of entertainment and film to brighten so many days. After the day is done, the staff get to work cleaning the centre and kitchen before heading upstairs to the staff room to do admin work, eat lunch and any other jobs such as washing up. I decided to use this time to investigate the clothing store and help sort out bags of new clothes.
Walking into the room I thought I had entered some kind of trendy thrift store - I saw Nike Sweaters ("they'll fight wars for that sweater"), Ted Baker jumpers, Barbour jackets, and more. I also saw some less-than-pleasant sweaty shorts that someone had donated and it was quite literally the worst smell that I have encountered in my entire life and I couldn't stop smelling it all day, even when I went to sleep! Quite amazingly, the place was full to the brim and had a whole section full of bags of donations. I was told that this time last year, they were struggling to get donations. Just a few Saturdays ago, someone felt so moved by the work that Webber Street were doing that they drove to London from Wales to give clothes that their church wanted to donate. Incredible.
On my third day I spent the morning among the clothes as I and another staff member were put in charge of showers. Guests can shower once a week and Webber Street provide 15 showers for men and 5 showers for women per day and when they come for a shower, they can get new clothes to wear as needed. Many just take socks and boxers but others who are in dire need will pretty much get a whole new outfit. Old clothes that are worn or that have been in constant wear and smell bad as a result are put in a rubbish bag and thrown away. It was harder to get to know guests this way as you only see them through a little hatch and spend a lot of time running around trying to find the correct sizes of clothes in the right thickness, colour or style for them (some are surprisingly picky!), but it is rewarding when so many shout a "thank you" through the door as they leave to rejoin the rest of the guests and you know that you are doing them a practical service. My third day also involved a walkabout the area in a very fashionable high-vis jacket (which did make me feel extremely official) just to make sure that the neighbours in the area felt safe and none of our guests were in the kids park.
Obviously, I'm not going to put any pictures up of the main room as I feel like it would breach quite a few privacy laws of the guests and spoil their sense of safety within that place, but it is the place where I spent most of the time. On my second day I was overseeing tea and coffee, making sure it was always full and that guests didn't spill tea and coffee everywhere. It also meant that I could chat to guests as they came up for tea and some are surprisingly open about their past (one told me about their spell in prison with me barely saying a word to them first). But what amazes me is that although you are standing in a room full of people that perhaps have addiction problems, a history of crime or mental health issues, there is no judgement. The fact that guests feel like they can speak of their past doesn't mean that they are proud of it or boasting about it, but they are recognising their need to face up to it. When I watch the staff deal with a guest, they deal with them as every other human, as a friend. Sometimes the homeless are just lumped together in a ball of stereotypes, pre-judged as people walk by, marginalised and made fun of by the middle class comedians. At the heart of things, they are human, with human needs of friendship and love. When one particularly smelly guest sat down, the rest of his table moved away. I continued to watch and it wasn't long before two others came and sat with him, putting up with the smell. Guests sit in tables, mainly according to nationality, but even then you see a human spirit of friendship and care for one another that surpasses labels and past.
Before breakfast one day, I shared the story of how Jesus freed me from sin, which included a history of anger and violence. I was warned that there would be hecklers, but instead got a few claps and a few guests thanked me for what I said as I served breakfast and tea. The fact that I was perhaps able to give hope of a truly freeing experience through Jesus for one of those 80 people was a thrilling and honouring thing. I was able, later that day, to sit in the afternoon Bible study. It was less popular than the film afternoon by a long shot but there was a great desire within that group and I saw many people enlightened by the story of Jesus casting a legion of demons out of a man. I couldn't help but smile at the thought of all the demons that some of the guests might face being cast out of their lives, transforming their behaviour and leading them to a knowledge of Christ. No guest was a lost cause, and as Christians we should believe that more than anyone because we have a hope in something greater and more powerful than human effort and social action.
Exploring the other worlds or branches of London City Mission was exciting and eye-opening. From theatre stage doors to the hearts of the homeless, from Bible studies with Arabic teachers to a tenancy project with a difference, I saw London in a fuller and brighter way, with a fresh revelation of hope. Yes, my time at Webber Street was eye-opening and I heard facts about homelessness from staff that were shocking, and it has most definitely caused me to do my research, but facts don't ring true until you see the faces and the scars (and smells) of those they speak of. The challenge now is to take a love which sees through the stats and into the hearts of Londoners out with me into my daily work and, in faith, watch it transform that community.
-Antonia
