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mattpSaturday was the reunion party for all the volunteers who helped out over the Christmas period. There were 8425 volunteers over the week who each gave an average of 24 hours time. That's about 23 person-years of time in just 7 days; really quite an awe-inspiring figure. The centre I was at had shifts as a three shift pattern (0700-1500, 1500-2300, 2300-0700); I worked 4 shifts of 1500-2300 on 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th December. I was at the Rough Sleepers Centre, which was referral only from the other centres, and was the old BBC rehearsal studio in North Acton.
From the email I was just sent: [The 6 centres had] over 1100 guests on a daily basis with a total of approximately 1900 different guests attending over the week. Receiving this email prompted me to write another entry related to the things that I did there. A few people having been asking the sorts of things that needed doing.
Vehicle gate
Equipment delivery takes place throughout much of the day. Towards the later part of the evening there'd be transfers from other (daytime only) centres; the centre I was at was referral and rough sleepers only. Since parking was limited, we'd ensure the timely unloading in orer to keep the space free.
Tesco
Unfortunately we had reports from the local super market of theft. We therefore had a few volunteers outside the store. We weren't able to do anything, so we were mainly there to appease the Tesco staff.
Pedestrian gate
There was a house rule of no drink or drugs, either possession or consumption on premises. We therefore did a simple search,but allowed people to consume drinks outside. One of my memories is that I had just finished a Tesco duty andwas on my way back into the centre and passed a few who were drinking. One of them had a guitar and was playing Stand By Me, with a crowd of half a dozen singing with them. I joined in. Such a small thing, but it's these sorts of things that bring us together.
Bedding
Towards the end of the swing shift we'd hand out bedding. Supplies were limited, and this was perhaps the hardest task I did. It was awkward handing out quilts, but having to refuse in order to prevent supplies being used up before everyone was given some. Many had their own sob story as to why they needed more than the allotted share, but I'm sure that if I were in that situation in sub-zero temperatures I'd be tempted to try too. Heartbreaking, really.
Gap duty
These are a bit of a mixed bag, and depended on which floor at at what time of day. Due to the nature of the building we weren't able to lock off areas where guests weren't allowed (or supposed to be), so instead we'd post people at prominent points who'd give directions to the various services available in the 5 floors of the building.
Most duties were only for an hour or so before moving onto something else - this rotation was mainly to stop volunteers getting bored or cold.
The re-union party was at the same venue at which Dreadnought used to be hosted, so it had an extra bit of nostalgia too. It's a shame that the venue is so dimly lit because it made recognising people difficult. I saw about 4 people from my shift, plus![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kittylyst. There are talks of drinks nights too, so I'm looking forward to that.
From the email I was just sent: [The 6 centres had] over 1100 guests on a daily basis with a total of approximately 1900 different guests attending over the week. Receiving this email prompted me to write another entry related to the things that I did there. A few people having been asking the sorts of things that needed doing.
Vehicle gate
Equipment delivery takes place throughout much of the day. Towards the later part of the evening there'd be transfers from other (daytime only) centres; the centre I was at was referral and rough sleepers only. Since parking was limited, we'd ensure the timely unloading in orer to keep the space free.
Tesco
Unfortunately we had reports from the local super market of theft. We therefore had a few volunteers outside the store. We weren't able to do anything, so we were mainly there to appease the Tesco staff.
Pedestrian gate
There was a house rule of no drink or drugs, either possession or consumption on premises. We therefore did a simple search,but allowed people to consume drinks outside. One of my memories is that I had just finished a Tesco duty andwas on my way back into the centre and passed a few who were drinking. One of them had a guitar and was playing Stand By Me, with a crowd of half a dozen singing with them. I joined in. Such a small thing, but it's these sorts of things that bring us together.
Bedding
Towards the end of the swing shift we'd hand out bedding. Supplies were limited, and this was perhaps the hardest task I did. It was awkward handing out quilts, but having to refuse in order to prevent supplies being used up before everyone was given some. Many had their own sob story as to why they needed more than the allotted share, but I'm sure that if I were in that situation in sub-zero temperatures I'd be tempted to try too. Heartbreaking, really.
Gap duty
These are a bit of a mixed bag, and depended on which floor at at what time of day. Due to the nature of the building we weren't able to lock off areas where guests weren't allowed (or supposed to be), so instead we'd post people at prominent points who'd give directions to the various services available in the 5 floors of the building.
Most duties were only for an hour or so before moving onto something else - this rotation was mainly to stop volunteers getting bored or cold.
The re-union party was at the same venue at which Dreadnought used to be hosted, so it had an extra bit of nostalgia too. It's a shame that the venue is so dimly lit because it made recognising people difficult. I saw about 4 people from my shift, plus
kittylyst. There are talks of drinks nights too, so I'm looking forward to that.
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no subject
Date: 2009-01-12 07:51 am (UTC)On the project front, some interesting developments in terms of which IR, etc to use - do you have an email address I can forward the current thread to and explain a bit further?