Leamington homeless shelter shocked at number of people they helped over Christmas

Volunteers at a homeless shelter in Leamington were '˜blown away' by the number of people they helped over the Christmas period.
The LWS Night Shelter team were shocked by the number of people they helped over the Christmas period.The LWS Night Shelter team were shocked by the number of people they helped over the Christmas period.
The LWS Night Shelter team were shocked by the number of people they helped over the Christmas period.

The LWS Night Shelter, which provides food, shelter and company for the homeless and vulnerable people in the Warwick district, ran an extended service over Christmas.

Volunteers were at the shelter, which is currently housed at the Priors Club in Tower Street, Leamington, every day from December 22 to January 1 so that the shelter could be open for those in need.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

During that period the volunteers were shocked by the number of people they helped.

A spokesperson from the LWS Night Shelter team, said: “We ran an extended service over Christmas by opening every day from December 22 to January 1.

“During that period we saw 73 unique guests, served 372 meals and gave 203 people a safe night’s sleep.

“We had 16 people stay with us on Christmas Eve and we had 14 people visit our shelter on Christmas Day.

“New Year’s Eve we had 43 people visit the shelter.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“During this period the most that we had staying at the shelter in one night was 24 people which is our highest number ever.

“We were blown away by these figures, and it’s a bittersweet feeling.

“There shouldn’t be any need for our service in today’s society, and the extent to which it is needed is terrible.

“However, we are so grateful to all the generous donors for helping us to support all our wonderful guests.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We hope that these figures will open people’s eyes to the scale of the problem, the need for support, and that 2018 will see the local government and wider community working together to support these vulnerable members of our community”.

The volunteers behind the LWS Night Shelter, which is currently at the Prior’s Club in Tower Street, Leamington, are also appealing for help in raising funds for a new premises.

A building in Leamington, which is in Packington Place and was formally known as “the Italian Club”, is set to be the shelter’s new home if they can raise £60,000.

The money is needed to make the necessary refurbishment and renovation work to the building so it can be used by the shelter.

So far more than £8,000 has been raised on the JustGiving fundraising page.

To donate to the shelter’s fundraising page go to: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lwsnightshelter