In London, most of those who ask for money introduce themselves as homeless. I started volunteering at a shelter for homeless people from November 2019 every Monday morning, helping to serve breakfast and lunch. The people who use the shelter come from various countries; some people cannot speak English and some like chatting; some are friendly, and some are not. The various accents and languages are a contrast to the British English used by most homeless people on the Overground.
I helped serving breakfast and lunch with other volunteers. I did not feel easy to talk to homeless people on the street. On the contrary, while I worked as a volunteer here, I could communicate with them with more relaxed mood.Food stimulates natural conversation. Serving slices of toast, I asked them 'What would you like on your toast?'.
Around 11am, many user asked us what was today's lunch.
For the first month, I could not tell who was a regular user and who was not but, after four months, I now remember faces and know some of their names and how they like their toast. Before, I recognised them as a group, but now I can see them as individuals who have different backgrounds and unique characters.I was living alone abroad and felt isolated quite often. Therefore it was happy surprise I feel relax and be together here. Making lunch together helped me to get close other volunteers and users.
I was also surprised by the number of people and organisations in the UK tackling the issue of homelessness: there are shelters founded by NGOs, services such as Street Link London and many events, such as Christmas Crisis and Night Walks. Nevertheless, many people who work with homelessness still experience a discomforting silence on the train in everyday life.