Charity runs food distribution centre for homeless people during Milton Keynes lockdown

The charity's Unity Park base at CMK has become a temporary food distribution centre, providing dozens of meals a day.

The grateful recipients include rough sleepers, homeless people housed in a local hotel, and members of the WNSMK weekly community club.

Normally the night shelter staff finish work at the end of the emergency accommodation season in March.

But this year the charity's welfare team are continuing to work to ensure the homeless have continued access to help during the coronavirus pandemic.

WNSMK spokesman Sara Millington said: "When lockdown started on March 23 our charity was supporting around eight newly-housed individuals in temporary accommodation. One month on and this has grown to around 60 people, as we have become aware of others who are struggling to find food with no other source of help."

She added: “Our welfare team have been working incredibly hard under difficult circumstances to source food and keep up with demand, we are becoming aware of a growing number of people with no means to put food on the table whilst they are stuck in lockdown.

"Some of these are our rough sleeping guests, others are people we know of from our weekly Community Club, and others are being referred to us or getting in touch out of desperation.

"We have also been providing support to the probation service and MK Council via Smart CJS, who are looking after the homeless stuck in lockdown in hotel rooms.”

The WNSMK is providing reheatable home-cooked food (roast chicken dinners, sausage and mash, curries, rice and pasta dishes) and food parcels with fresh produce and cupboard essentials to keep people fed during the crisis.

"It’s a huge undertaking, which has led to our charity’s base, Unity Park Station, becoming a temporary food distribution centre," said Sara.

"Recipients of the food parcels have been letting us know how much it means to them, with messages such as, ‘Thank you from the veterans, they were hugely touched.’ ‘Our ability to cook decent meals is limited, as the oven in the caravan is not good. We only have one shelf and the oven is either on or off, you cannot vary the heat. So these meals are a blessing.’ ‘This means so much to me, never has anyone cared for me anytime. Bless you, and I will always be grateful for your help.’"

Kathy Howard, the WNSMK Welfare Manager who is leading relief efforts, said: “We are extremely concerned about the impact that the current situation and lockdown is having on the mental health of the homeless and vulnerable. It’s a huge challenge.

"We are not simply dropping off food with people, but are seeking to be a point of contact for them and checking on their welfare.. The people we are helping need support and human contact as much as they need food. It’s not easy as so many support services are closed at the moment, so I know we are a lifeline for a lot of people right now.”

The WNSMK would like to thank the volunteers and organisations who are assisting them to meet this need, whether by donating food, cooking up meals, and helping with sorting and delivering.

They are grateful to Namji restaurant in Wolverton, Haircuts4homeless, Langar Aid MK, Dreamsai, Concept Cleaning, Costo Milton Keynes, the Community Fridge and Waitrose Milton Keynes for supporting their efforts during this challenging time.

WNSMK has also been awarded funding from MK Community Foundation to assist with their Coronavirus emergency response. This will help us tthe to charity sustain its meals service over the coming weeks.

The WNSMK welcomes enquiries and offers of support to communications@winternightsheltermk.com