Companionship and good food

Symon Hill visited Quaker Homeless Action’s Christmas shelter

by Symon Hill 13th January 2012

‘Isolation,’ says Donna, when asked about the worst aspects of being homeless, ‘Isolation is a very hard thing to deal with.’ Over a cup of tea in the Quaker Christmas Shelter, she tells me that ‘homeless people don’t trust anyone’. On the streets, people have to second-guess each other’s motives.  She begins cautiously but becomes more confident as she speaks of her ten years of homelessness and her recent move into temporary accommodation. With quiet determination, she says that she is now thinking about volunteering for a homelessness charity.