Homeless blog: Emdad Rahman
Everybody needs help sometimes!
Without relying too much stats I can tell you the reader straight off that the homeless situation and food poverty in general is not getting any better anytime soon.
Just take a walk around the area and it’s clear that several soup kitchens are needed to just reach out to visitors and guests. At least at the Stratford Centre we have a roof over our heads and good foot flow. Staff from the centre are always very polite and helpful (There was this guy once) and I always have meaningful conversations with Police officers, tourists, football fans who are always very supportive and want to know more about what we do.
Tonight was quite different really. I met two gentleman who shared a very useful outreach concept and I think we could really work well together in partnership in the near future. We were graced by the visit of Andrew Fraser, the author of Invisible: A Diary of Rough Sleeping in Britain. Fraser ate, mingled and I even allowed him to leave a few copies of his excellent book on our table for selling purposes.
Tonight’s food and drink was provided by National Cricket League Division 1 champions NEO CC. Captain Ayaz Karim was joined by Anindita Ani, Shaha Riadh, batsman of the year Juwel Roy and Shahriar Islam. Also in attendance was NCL co founder Sajid Patel.
I still had toiletries from the fantastic Christmas donations from Peri, Luisa and the crew at Pearson One90 Holborn and these were very gratefully accepted by recipients tonight. Lucy and Linda provided fruit and veg.
With Declan Rice securing a 1-0 win for West Ham against Arsenal at London Stadium the mood around Stratford was an altogether jovial one for Saturday night. I was handed a fiver by a very Appy Ammer to spend on goods.
Mohamed Salah ensures Liverpool got three points against Chris Hughton’s Seagulls at the Amex so a very good Saturday in all.
Thanks to the adults and kids who made a smashing team tonight. The important thing is we use whatever means we have at our disposal to keep raising awareness.
#homeless
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