Derby Churches Nightshelter

By Phil Morton

Street homelessness is a growing problem in Derby. But Derby Churches for the second year can and are doing something about it and your prayers would be very welcome.

‘Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ Matthew 25 v 44

Why is this project needed?

This year,Derby City Council continues tomake cuts to the homeless provision in our city.Several hostels have already closed. Unless some provision for emergency cold weather provision is made, there is a risk that people will die on Derby’s streets this winter. Last winter, due in part to the Derby Churches Nightshelter it was the first winter no one died on our streets, thus proving the need for it.

What are we doing?

Derby’s churches are running a second year of anight shelter, following on from the great success of last year’snight shelter to provide safe overnight accommodation for Derby’s street homeless.

The Derby Churches Nightshelter will have 7 church venues in or near the city centre, each opening one night per week through December 2014 – March 2015. Each night on rotation one church will open from 8pm for 35 guests who will be given a warm welcome and a substantial meal by volunteers. We will recruit volunteers. At 10pm, paid overnight staff will take over as the guests go to sleep in sleeping bags on mattresses or camp beds on the church floor. Next morning there’ll be a breakfast before leaving at 8am. The equipment will be driven to the next venue in a van in readiness for setting up. In severe weather we will endeavour to accommodate up to 50 people.

Who is running it?

Derby City Mission is co-ordinating and providing governance to the project, and a management group drawn from people across a range of churches has been set up. This year I have been newly appointed as the project manager, with Chandra Morbey heading up guest support to try and work more with our guests to help them move on from the night shelter.

What else are Derby Churches doing?

There are already a whole host of activities in our churches to help homeless people including the Recovery Project and other Drop-ins, Debt Advice, Derby Soup Run, Basics Food Bank and church members also go out to meet people on the streets. Derby Churches Nightshelter will refer guests to the city’s housing advice and these groups.

Pray please:

1st – 7thOctober – Derby’s homeless people

  • Ask God to bless and comfort those people in our city who are sleeping rough, ‘sofa surfing’ or who are at risk of homelessness due to family breakdown, addiction, or financial stress.
  • Thank God for all the church based groups that patiently provide a warm welcome to vulnerable homeless people and ask that the Holy Spirit may continue to gently work in people’s hearts to break destructive cycles and transform lives as they meet with God.
  • For Christians and non-Christians faithfully and diligently working in charities and local authority funded organisations helping homeless people, that God will give them the strength to persevere even under stress and with reduced resources and although their own jobs might be at risk.

8th – 14th October – Venues and Volunteers

  • Thank God for the commitment shown through the generous offers to host the nightshelter from churches across the city centre and for those people who have offered as volunteers.
  • Ask God to help us get the final venues in place, and that He will encourage wonderful caring people from across the churches and wider to volunteer weekly this winter.
  • Pray the training of volunteers goes well on the 7th, 11th and 13th October.

15th – 21stOctober – Resources and Finance

  • Thank God for the amazing generosity of people in their giving, and for the one grant already agreed.
  • Ask God to help us trust Him to open the right doors as we seek funding of £150,000 through grant applications, letters to businesses, donations from churches and individuals and receipt of goods in kind for the next two years of the shelter, and as we look to expand the work done beyond the period of the night shelter.
  • Ask God to continue to bless this project with amazing offers of assistance from unexpected and miraculous sources.

22nd – 28thOctober – Management and Governance

  • Thank God for the progress made so far in a short time, and that the team will not be daunted by the challenge God has set, but that we will trust in Him to provide for this project, and that we will make the right decisions. We need to get the right balance between spending time on issues to do with the practical assistance and the spiritual assistance we intend to offer. Ask for God’s protection over the Management Group, their health and their families.
  • Ask God:
  • toensure all our communications and publicity material is giving out the right messages and it gets to the right people.
  • that we will be given opportunities to speak about this project, and raise the profile.
  • Ask God for relationships with other agencies to increase so trying to help our guests beyond the night shelter will be improved

29th – 31stOctober –Prophetic Voicefor the city on behalf of the homeless

  • Ask God that:
  • the project will be able to achieve the right balance between the practical servant and prophetic voice and that both aspects will be an effective witness to His love.
  • we will be able to decide which groups to work alongside as we raise the issue of homelessness and injustice with the public and the local authority.
  • we will see real change in the priorities of our city’s funding to reflect Jesus’s command to care for the most vulnerable people in our society.