21st December 2014

Leading To The Christmas Crib Appeal:  THE PASSAGE
“You Did It To Me”
One of the great things that happens at Christmas is the opening up of centres for the homeless to go and spend Christmas. Not only do they get a roof over their heads and a Christmas Dinner, but there are plenty of other services on offer; from a shower and new clothing to access to a doctor and a chiropodist.
Yet, as wonderful as the services provided are, they are just temporary. Once Christmas ends the service ends and it’s back to normal.

Yet we believe the Truth and Joy of Christmas is not just for Christmas. We celebrate the birth of Emmanuel ‘God with us’, but he is of course with us EVERYDAY not just at this time of the year.
If this is true, then so it must be for our care and concern for the homeless. As Jesus taught us “whenever you do it to the least of these sisters or brothers of mine, YOU DID IT TO ME.”
With this in mind our Christmas Crib collection will this year go to the Passage.
The Passage
The Passage was founded by Cardinal Basil Hume in response to the need he saw daily, as he passed homeless people sleeping in doorways and on pavements around the Cathedral. The Passage is now London’s largest voluntary sector day centre for homeless and vulnerable people: each day we help up to 200 men and women.
Their eight-strong team of Outreach Workers makes contact, often late at night or early in the morning, with those sleeping rough in Victoria as they are bedding down or getting up each day.
Their 40-bed hostel, Passage House, was officially opened on 1 March 2000. In the year 1st April to 31st March 2013, 23 residents completed a planned move on.
Their 16 self-contained studio flats in Montfort House have staff support on site and specialised in helping very long term rough sleepers.
The Passage welcome and treat clients with respect and dignity, and find out what they need and want. They offer professional and appropriate advice and help according to the client’s needs and aspirations. They agree an action plan with clients which is time limited with the aim of supporting clients out of homelessness.
Of the over £4 million a year it costs to keep The Passage going, only 40% is funded from statutory sources; the rest comes from donations. You can put your donations in the box by the crib.
If you would like to find out more about their work you can easily find them on the internet by just typing in “ The Passage”.