Birmingham Christmas Shelter (BCS) was set up almost 30 years ago under its original name, Birmingham Open Christmas. Since then, we’ve seen many changes in people’s needs and even our name, but one thing that hasn’t changed is our aim: “To offer food, warmth, shelter and companionship to homeless and lonely people in the Birmingham area, over the Christmas period. Its doors are open to all, irrespective of gender, colour, race, religion or sexual orientation.”
This means that BCS never turns anyone away. Although many of the shelter’s guests are on the streets or sleeping rough, they all come from radically different backgrounds so their needs are often quite diverse.
Some may just drop in for a few hours to get warm, while others may stay for the whole week: whatever they want to do is fine with us.
We can cater for as many as 200 guests at any one time, and although we’ve never reached that maximum capacity, given how things are going economically across the country – across Europe – there are concerns that this year will be our busiest yet. Reports from local charities suggest that most of them are already experiencing a 30 per cent increase in attendance at soup runs and we fully expect to deal with something similar over the Christmas period.
The entire BCS staff is made up of volunteers, and without them we simply wouldn’t be able to provide the service that we do today. We have a hardcore group of 25 Area Team Leaders that control up to 400 helpers a year, which is a massive undertaking considering that we have no paid positions at all.
This does mean that we’re completely reliant on funding. We get extremely generous yearly donations from some of our supporters, but the rest of it comes as a result of us selling ourselves to companies and individuals in an attempt to keep everything going.
Fundraising
This is what we do for the rest of the year! People often ask us what we get up to from January to November, but we don’t just shut up shop once Christmas has passed. Quite simply, it takes us about ten months to plan each year’s Shelter Week. The previous year’s efforts have to be looked at, and policies and plans have to be tweaked, but we do spend a lot of our time approaching potential donors and sponsors to secure funding and supplies for the next project.
On top of all of that we make sure we’re actively communicating and meeting with other charities – not only to raise our profile, but to see if there are areas where we can all provide mutual aid and assistance. We also regularly speak to schools and colleges to highlight the issues surrounding the homeless situation in the Midlands area – and hopefully get more people interested!
Volunteering
It takes us about two months to round up all our Shelter Week volunteers. On top of all the awareness work we run throughout the year, we begin our volunteering drive in earnest by getting people to register their interest on our website on 1 November each year. Thankfully we have a great retention rate, and we do a lot of our promotion through word-of-mouth and on Facebook so our costs are really low.
We train them all fully, putting them through an induction process and making them aware of the current issues and policies surrounding homelessness. We also provide drug and alcohol abuse input, which we feel is vital for the caring of our guests, and Team Leaders get first aid training to help deal with minor injuries.
Shelter Week
After all of the preparation, Shelter Week rolls around pretty quickly and it really starts the day before we open our doors.
With the help of 70 volunteers we check that all of our supplies – from the food right to the cleaning materials – are all accounted for and ready to use for the next day. To minimise the impact of our work on our neighbours, we also clear up the area around the shelter: we do our best to avoid any negative publicity.
Although we frequently update our policies and adapt our training, we have certain procedures that are never changed. We don’t allow sharp objects, drugs, or alcohol to ever enter the premises. Every time anyone enters the building, be it a trustee or a visitor, they are searched by our dedicated security team. While this may sound strict, this process actually helps volunteers and visitors alike build up relationships with everyone involved in the programme.
Helping Out
Once everything’s up and running, guests have access to a wide range of facilities, largely thanks to the range of expertise that our volunteers provide. Most importantly, those that stay all day are provided with three hot meals and a constant supply of hot drinks and snacks to help deal with malnutrition and fatigue issues. Overnight guests are offered a safe and warm place to sleep every night on mattresses with new sleeping bags, and our site also enables them to greet the day with a nice hot shower. Guests are also provided with complimentary toiletries and new underwear so that they can feel comfortable and clean.
These features may sound like nothing special to you and me, but they serve an important purpose: helping our guests feel normal, even if it is just the first step on a long journey. New clothes and bathing facilities also help cut down on the risk of illness and infection spreading through the shelter.
Basics aside, we are able to offer additional comforts too. Each year we have on-site access to hairdressers, chiropodists, a masseuse, an optician, and arguably most importantly, counselling from drug and alcohol abuse experts as well as from Samaritans.
All of these services are managed by our team of Area Team Leaders, who delegate to volunteers throughout the day and night.
We also run entertainment during the week. There’s always a DVD on, so people can rest and watch that, and there’s live TV for those that want it too. There are little events running throughout as well – karaoke, bingo, and table football all proving popular.
Putting it all down like that makes it sound like a complex operation, and to be honest, it is. So how – and why – did I get involved?
Getting involved
I got involved personally about 4 years ago as a supplier. I used to run my own crowd management company and I heard that the charity needed to get better security for their Shelter Week, so I approached the charity. What I did was very customer-focused, and I had a team of dedicated people who could make a difference, so I asked them to give me a try.
They did, it worked, and 4 years later we have the same security team in place. Over the years I started to totally buy in to what the charity was trying to achieve and began helping out whenever and however I could.
This resulted in the trustees asking me to come on board as a full trustee in 2011, which is not only a great honour but has also given me a much better understanding of the homeless situation in the UK – as well as taking me out of my comfort zone a few times!
Find out more on the Birmingham Christmas Shelter website.
