The Sock Mob - an informal volunteer network (London)

I am interested to know the story of this informal volunteer network actually do with the homeless in town and how they engaged with another extremely different group of people in the city. I joined their walks in order to find out more what they do and also where the homeless people stay.

I joined an online social network “meet up” in order to get the information of the walks they do around the city. I can check out which area they are going to walk on that day and where and when to meet, they basically organize everything by posting on the website, about what the people would bring along, where to go for a drink and gather after the walk.

Then we went for the actual walk, I met up with the others somewhere along the Strand. From a big branch of a sandwiches shop, we’ve got some sandwiches which they normally flow away at the end of each day if they are not sold. In the walk, someone bring along his dog, someone bring along some soup and other materials and resources that might be useful for the people stay on the street. 

The homeless people are spreaded out around the area, a bigger group of them gather in front of the doorstep of a church facing the Covert Garden, watching the performance on the square. Another big group gather at pavement area at the intersection of the William IV Street and the Agar Street. The Lions Club from Essex held soup runs here and serve about 100 homeless people everyday. They will sit on the kurb at the shopfront of a book shop, under the trees in that little open space. The territory along a busy road suddenly became a picnic field in the heart of the city. 

Some of them prefer to stay alone on the steps infront of restaurants, supermarket, front and rear door of theatre, basically where there are people who might give them some money or food. You can always see some marks on the floor of those places which shows their existence.

The Sock Mob Group chat with them causally when they hand out the resources to the homeless. They walk, sit and talk with them and they described their action as a moment of mutual learning and trust, driven by the ethos of unconditional human contact and friendship.

Unseen Tour (London)

Record back to August 2010

Reported by the Big Issue magazine, an informal volunteer network in London organized a tour, called ‘Unseen Tours’, They built up a close relationship with the street people in central London, who they met through regular weekly walk. and they coach homeless people they work with to be tour guides. They do this by teasing out their creativity and resourcefulness, and helping to nurture their confidence.

I brought a ticket online through their webpage on the same day and then about 25 people gather outside the underground station in the evening. We walked around Storeditch area from Old Street Station and the other tour around London Bridge area. In the tour, we went through some landmarks, some local attractions, some parks, cemetery, churchyards and squatted houses. We look at some graffitis, art pieces commissioned by council and underground art studio and exhibition space, etc. 

refer http://www.sockmobevents.org.uk/unseen-tours

A former homeless man, now a photographer (London)

Start interviewing some of the guests use the soup kitchen regularly. One of the guest in the soup kitchen is formerly squatting in the 1980s to year 2000. He started his homeless life back in the 80s after divorce. He is now 70 years old and living in a flat offered by the council. He share with me one of the art work he drew.

Then he told me he has an art exhibition in that evening, I was excited, from an ordinary homeless man who come for food-aid, he  suddenly became one of the artist in town. 

I went to that exhibition at last, and I found out that it was actually an exhibition of the Seymour Art, which was formed at the West London Day Centre and its members meet there weekly at a course run by the City of Westminister College.

The exhibition was held in the Subway Gallery, which is a kiosk in the subway leading to Edgware Road Underground Station. The Gallery in the subway was drawing people into the deadly quiet subway under the busy road.

I felt grateful for them having a focus in art in their daily life. As told by the elderly man, by attending these art courses, he developed not only a new skill but also friendship with other students and a healthy and stable daily life style. 

Genesis of Soup Kitchen

Soup kitchens have been providing nourishment to the poor and hungry since at least the eighteenth century and remain an important component of private food relief until now. They are places where food is offered to the poor for free or at a reasonably low price. Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, they are often staffed by volunteer organizations, such as church groups. 

Originally they were used to feed the military but soup houses were established throughout Europe, England and the United States to feed the poor. In London, as many as sixty thousand people were fed daily from Rumford’s soup kitchens.

It was not until the Great Depression that there was resurgence in soup kitchens. Along with breadlines, soup kitchens became a daily part of the life of millions during the 1930s. They were immortalized in numerous poems, songs, and stories. 

I’m spending my nights at the flop-house,

I’m spending my days on the street,

I’m looking for work, and I find none,

I wish I had something to eat.

Soup, soup, they give me a bowl

of soup, soup, soup. They give

me a bowl of soup.

Depression-era song (1930s)’ (eNotes.com, 2010)

Soup Kitchen for Homeless/Marginally Homeless (London)

The soup kitchen I’ve been doing a bit volunteering work is "a resource for the homeless, marginally homeless, impoverished and lonely in Central London. These include ex-offenders, economic migrants (especially from E Europe) and refugees. The soup kitchen call those use their facilities their ‘guests’.”

5 days a week, this soup kitchen with 3 part-time staff and about 70 volunteers is serving about 55 guests per day. 

Every year, 12,000 meals served 250 different people (homeless, marginally homeless, impoverished and lonely, include ex-offenders, economic migrants, mainly from Eastern Europe, and refugees). Also hands out 3,500 articles of clothing or shoes + 2,500 toiletry items. 

Conversation with the Homeless Man (London)

I was walking home with my grocery, as usual I have to pass by the 2.5metres wide space in between the exit of underground station and the bus stop. The guy selling the "Big Issue" magazine was standing outside there in front of the glass partition of the bus stop.  From a distant, he looks a bit different from the one usually there and normally, the man sits on the ground with a bag of stuff by his side, right at the same spot.

I walked pass the side of the man, tried to recognize him but he turned his head looking at something else. I went about 10metres away, then I decided to turn back and buy the magazine from this man as I haven't get one yet this week.

When I look at him, I realised he is the same man.

He also recognized me. "How are you?" He asked me in his rough voice with a very inward smile on his face. It is a bit unusual, he started the conversation.

I answered, 'I am fine, thank you. and how are you today?'

He said, 'I am ok, I am fine.'

I said, 'That's good.' and I gave him the money for the magazine.

He handed the magazine to me and said, 'Thank you and I am fine. I am ok. There is always someone worse off than you.'

I asked, 'Sorry, what's that mean? worse off than you?'

He said, 'It means there is always someone who have even bigger problem than the one I have. so I am ok.'

I said, 'I see, ok.'

He said, 'Thank you. Take Care.'

I said, 'Thank you and you take care too.'

I turned back and kept on going my way to home.

100 Words into Homelessness

The homeless man walked towards me, walked alongside me, walked pass me. Awaken from my subconscious journey towards home, I turned around, I saw him keep walking slowly among other people, looks like without any destination. Not only once, but many times.

Not only him, not only my city, but cities, they sit beside me, sit behind me, lie down in front of me, live around me, live with me.

Where do you live? What are you doing? Why are you doing this? Where are you going? I wanted to ask. But where am I going also? I asked myself.