The Help the Homeless Group covers three main areas:
Bethany Christian Shelter
Every night from late October to the end of March, the Care Shelter Crisis Intervention – Bethany Christian Trust provides emergency accommodation in central Edinburgh for people over the age of 16 who have no other accommodation. A volunteer team provides and serves hot meals, and Bethany staff provide professional advice and support to help move people off the streets and into longer-term accommodation. Anyone without a place to sleep may use the Shelter, which is free of charge. Bethany Christian Trust and local churches make this service possible. Greenbank provides a team who contribute to this work four times each year.
Fresh Start
Fresh Start help people who have experienced homelessness set up their new home through the provision of goods and services. They work to end the cycle of homelessness and for a better life for those living in poverty. Greenbank regularly collect the household items that support this work, with specific requests being made regularly through the Newsletter and Connections.
Food Box
This box sits at the front vestibule of the church and we ask the congregation to donate non-perishable food items. The support from the congregation has been hugely appreciated by the charities supported by us – Streetwork, based in Edinburgh’s Cowgate (where temporary day and overnight services are available for the homeless), Four Square (which provides emergency support for young women who are homeless or at risk), the Fair Share Thursday at Richmond Craigmillar Church, and Edinburgh City Mission, which supports food banks and homeless people across the city.
During Advent, we also organise Countdown to Christmas, a project designed to help those in Edinburgh less fortunate than we are, by gathering together gifts of non-perishable food for donation to the four charities.