Nic: “… so what are you doing for Christmas then?”
Me: “Well if I haven’t found a job, I spose I’ll be hanging around at the hostel. I don’t want to make plans incase I suddenly get called up to work”
Nic: “If you don’t find work, maybe you could volunteer at a soup kitchen or something, that could be a fun way to do Christmas.”
Me: “… yeah that’d be good…if I don’t find work I’ll do that.”
Christmas day
I arrived at The Downside Fisher Youth Club around 2:30pm, but we didn’t start our shift till 3. I had a coffee and a few Christmas lollies, and chatted while I waited around. The volunteers ranged from 25 year olds to people well into retirement and about 95% were from the UK. The organization is called Crises at Christmas and has been operating for a few years now. They have a few centers around London and the one I went to was quieter (the closest one to me with shifts available). There were around 100 people sleeping there. We started with a briefing, which included what was happening throughout the day, health and safety, some tips for first time volunteers and a general intro about the charity. I was one of the first to put my hand up and was sent to look after the people waiting for a haircut. My self and a guy from London had to keep a log of the name and ID number of the guests who wanted to get their hair cut and keep them company while they waited. It was well set up and we met a few cool people. The hairdresser was from Sydney and cut 22 heads between 3 and 11pm, she stopped for one cigarette break. I even had to bring her a plate of food for dinner.
The centre is opened for one week every year and doesn’t just include a feed and a roof over their head. The centre offers hairdressing, Manicures, Dentistry, Clothing, workshops/support for different addictions, advice, a kennel for animals, entertainment (board games, puzzles, books, DVD’s running all day, music, live music, karaoke, comedians, tea and coffee facilities), foot care, luggage storage and healthcare from doctors. There’s a bus to and from the centers that offer different facilities so everyone can get the full treatment. It is a massive operation and the organization is fantastic.
After about an hour in the hair salon, I was sent back to the staff room for a change. I put my hand up to do the dishes in the kitchen, where I spent the rest of the day. I really enjoyed it. It was mostly Large pots and pans as the kitchen had to serve Christmas dinner to around 200 people including staff. Dinner included Cold ham, Roast Turkey, Brussels sprouts, carrots, roast potatoes, cheesy cauliflower, peas, parsnip, vegie patties and gravy with 3 different cakes, Christmas pudding with custard and fruit mince pies for dessert… YUM. The chef did a great job, and so did I apparently, as he offered me a job in he’s restaurant in Chelsea. The volunteers ate dinner after the guests, and then we got back into the kitchen to finish up. Once I was done in the kitchen, I floated around chatting with people in the games room until it was time for our quick debrief. Lifts were offered but no one seemed to be going to Paddington, where my hostel was, so I took another cab. The cabs there and back cost me £58 all up, or $90AUD as there was no public transport running Christmas day. It was a different way to spend Christmas, and although I would have loved to be home with friends and family, it was a great Christmas day.
Boxing Day
Today the bus services were running, although the tube operators were on their annual strike, so it took me an hour and two busses to get to Crises at Christmas. As this was my second day I was more confident and knew what to expect. I found out today that Crises at Christmas has 4 centers throughout London where guests can sleep and there are around 8000 volunteers over the Christmas period they operate. My first shift for the day was to empty all the bins and I was pared with Emily, a 30-year-old solicitor from London. We finished in around 10 minutes. I was then asked to help a guest, who didn’t speak the best English, up the stairs to the luggage room and sort out he’s belongings. He emptied a plastic bag into a sports bag and threw out all the shit he didn’t want. I went back to the volunteer staff room and asked for another job. I was paired with an annoying 20 something named Lorraine, and we staffed the post outside the women’s bathroom for around an hour (felt like 5 hrs). Once we were relieved by other crewmembers, I found Emily again and we did a stint at the reception desk. This was fun as we just chatted and chilled with everyone from managers, staff and guests. The reason they have everyone in pairs is for safety and they move everyone around to keep it interesting, so no one gets bored. Once we were finished there I was roped into doing about an hour on the front gate. This would have been fine if it wasn’t 8° and raining. It wasn’t too bad cause I was paired with an Italian lady, Sara, from Venice. We spoke about travelling and living in other countries. She moved to London when she was younger, but still misses her life back in Italy.
When we were finally allowed back inside, I made sure I kept warm and dry for the rest of the night. I chatted with a dude from London and the hairdresser from Sydney. That’s when I was assigned the task of manning the sleep room. It would have been around 8pm and most guests had already eaten dinner. It was closed off because one bloke had pissed the bed. He wasn’t well and ended up having an ambulance take him to the hospital. We packed the bedding into bags and into a skip before other guests were allowed in to make their beds. The beds were old camping beds, just portable frames with a sturdy sleeping surface. They each took 2 woolen blankets (one for top, one for bottom) and most took 2 pillows. Some used a doona (or Duvet in the UK) and some had their own sleeping bags. At around 9:30 a new crew came in to take over and we went for dinner. After dinner Emily and I took post in front of the Staff room where we stayed until our shift finished at 11pm. No one at the debrief was heading past Paddington but a lovely lady also named Emily said she’d drop me at a bus stop which had a bus going directly to Paddington. She ended up taking me all the way to Paddington station and told me about some volunteer opportunities for warehouse personnel in Africa. I’ll be getting onto that! It was another great day helping out at the shelter and a positive attitude to walk away with.
The volunteering part was great, especially as I haven’t worked in around 5 months; it was good to get back into it. I smiled at each and every person who walked past me, and remember thinking that if they walked past me on the street I would have avoided them… that’s going to change.