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As you tuck into turkey and all the trimmings or excitedly open presents, spare a thought for those who will be alone and on the streets this Christmas.
Up to 250 people could be sleeping rough over the festive season but the Medway Messenger wants to make sure no one goes hungry or cold.
For our Christmas Appeal 2016 we want to continue to raise the plight of the homeless and encourage our readers to support projects which are helping people on the streets this winter.
The death of homeless Samson Paine earlier this year has brought the issue of homelessness in Medway to the forefront. Mr Paine was found dead in his tent next to a busy main road in Chatham in June, just a few hundred yards from the bus station.
His death prompted a new campaign group to be set up, Medway Justice for Homeless People, calling on Medway Council to open emergency shelters.
Eric Slater, from the Salvation Army, who helped Samson, said it was sad that it took something like his death for people to take notice of the homeless issue in Medway.
He added: “But people are becoming more socially conscious and people are very generous.”
The Salvation Army, as well as Caring Hands in Chatham, will be opening on Christmas Day offering dinners to those living on the streets. Mr Slater said: “Sadly our lunch for the homeless will be well attended. Homelessness is an issue in Medway, but it is not just those living on the streets.
“There are people in accommodation who are homeless and lonely.
“The Salvation Army helps people week in, week out but Christmastime is important because goodwill is what Christmas is all about.”
The official number of people sleeping rough in Medway is 15 but support groups say council officers are not looking in the right places. Charity workers and volunteers estimate it be around 250. That is without recognising those who are ‘sofa surfing’.
From January 2015 to June 2016, the council received 1,037 homeless applications. With the new benefits cap coming into force, it is estimated that more people could end up without a roof over their heads.
Medway Justice for Homeless People is calling on the council to requisition abandoned buildings and convert them into emergency shelters with specialist support.
Spokesman Guy Jordan said: “It’s criminal that up to 200 people may be sleeping in the open this Christmas only yards from places that could be a safe haven with the minimum expense.”
The group will be staging a protest at the Rochester Dickensian Christmas festival this weekend. They will be outside the Six Poor Travellers House, the 16th-century charity house which featured in Dickens’ work, in Rochester High Street at 11am on Saturday, followed by leafleting and canvassing the public.
They will also be holding a meeting at the Huguenot Museum, part of the visitor centre in the High Street, at 1pm, and hope to make their point heard when the Mayor of Medway takes part in the main parade at noon.
Chas Berry, from the group, said: “Dickens was a social campaigner and he would have been outraged by the attitude the council are taking. We don’t want to upset anyone’s Christmas or disrupt the celebrations but we want to raise awareness. The council could and should be doing more.”
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