Chan's 2014 Virgin London Marathon

Born and bred in London I have grown up and seen homelessness all my life it had been something that I had blinkers to, all until my Marathon training began.
With every run I see the effects of loss, abuse and loneliness spend across every shop doorway and bus stop and in all weathers, this had slowly broken my preconception of what being homeless is really about. But what could I do about it?!

Last month at church we had a guest who was asking for our help in supporting the homeless by sparing just a couple of hours to help make up beds, serve a hot meal and spend time talking and playing games for a night with the homeless. No money was asked for just time. Well there I had it, this was what I had been looking for, and this is who I am going to pledge my sweat, pain and poor kness for and I would like to ask all of you to do the same in supporting this fantastic charity.

THE CHARITY: The charity I have chosen to support is the Haringey Winter Night Shelter (operating through the charity All People All Places).

The Haringey Winter Night Shelter is a wonderful and humbling initiative. Haringey Winter Shelter is a church based 'rolling shelter' that provides emergency accommodation for the homeless during the winter months of December to March. There are seven churches involved with each church taking one night each week and opening their doors to welcome homeless guests to stay in the church over night. The shelter provides an evening meal, washing facilities, clothes, breakfast the following morning and of course a place to sleep. One of the most important things offered is a warm welcome to guests who have perhaps been on the streets all day, sometimes for many weeks.

However, the shelter is not just about providing a bed for the night. They also aim to proactively assist the homeless guests in an effort to secure 1st and 2nd stage accommodation, and effectively break the cycle of homelessness. The shelter coordinator works tirelessly in moving guests into more stable permanent accommodation and providing support to find work as quickly as possible. As a result, 86% of guests last year were moved into more secure accommodation.

Thank you all in advance for your support x