Rosmini Centre Wisbech.
Wisbech soup kitchen proposed to aid town’s homeless
James Podesta
Friday, January 25, 2013
3:21 PM
WISBECH is in desperate need of a soup kitchen to feed the town’s homeless, a charity worker has revealed.
Jill Sandy, a volunteer advice worker at the Rosmini Centre, says she knows of at least 25 people who sleep rough in the town and have to rummage through bins for food.
She said: “I have become increasingly concerned about the homeless problem in Wisbech.
“Since working at the Rosmini I have been aware of the number of people the staff are attempting to feed, each day, with no financial help.
“I think the time has come to provide some sort of soup kitchen facility similar to the one provided in Peterborough for many years.
“They provide hot soup, hot drinks and bread, served from a van, each day.”
One of Wisbech’s homeless community spoke of the daily horror of life on the town’s streets.
Mateusz (not his real name) has lived in Wisbech since he left Lithuania in 2004.
He has worked in a factory but was made homeless in July.
He said: “In the streets there are people who have to go through bins of get food.
“Some people are committing crimes just to get in prison where they know they will get three meals a day and be somewhere warm.
“When Greggs closes they check in the bins to see if there are any leftover bits of bread or cake. Whatever we find is shared out between the group.”
Mateusz says a soup kitchen would make a big difference to Wisbech’s homeless community.
He said: “A soup kitchen would help because it would allow people to enjoy some warm food during the day.
“People could then stay away from the bins and would not need to shoplift to survive so crime would be reduced.”
Mrs Sandy is encouraged by proposals to set up a food bank in Wisbech but feels more could still be done to improve the plight of the town’s homeless.
She said: “A food bank is great but we still need to address the issue of a soup kitchen in the town.
“This is something I feel strongly about. We should be aware of the problem and doing something about it.”
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4 comments
"One of Wisbech’s homeless community spoke of the daily horror of life on the town’s streets" - yes, and most of the town's residents now feel the same way about the town's streets!
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Citizen of EUSSR
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Although I am a volunteer for the Rosmini Centre this is a personal observation from speaking to the people who use the centre, other volunteers and by living in Wisbech. I understand Centre do not have the responsibility or the funding to provide this. I addressed my email to Churches Together before Christmas to see if they could offer any solution to the problem as many Churches operate kitchens near the town centre.
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Jill Sandy
Friday, January 25, 2013
Thank you for your very measured report but what I think has not been realised is that the homeless in Wisbech are not only from the Migrant Worker Community but from all sectors of the community. The erudite gentleman who gave a very graphic opinion of life in the streets of Wisbech happened to come from Eastern Europe. The homeless population come from a varied and diverse background and have differing reasons for being that unenviable position. Surely it does not matter where they come from or why they are there people need the basics of life.
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Jill Sandy
Friday, January 25, 2013
If it's that bad in Wisbech, why not simply go home to Lithuania? Maybe that's not very PC of me to say, though.....
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Alan Drew
Friday, January 25, 2013