Day 2/8 - 23Dec - Open for guests
After Sunday's setup we have opened the doors today as one of Crisis At Christmas 24 hour residential centres supported by a three-shift volunteer system providing full services. I would normally say that we expect the first day to be quiet, but all of the beds you see here are now taken and likely in use for the week! We have the capibility to expand our sleeping (and catering) capacity and I'll let you know what happens when the shops close for the seasonal break and more guests usually arrive. Whilst Crisis At Christmas has several London temporary residential centres, much bigger than ours, The Gate is special because we only take in guests with significant alcohol, drug or other addictions. Experience has shown that this subset of London's homeless will not come indoors unless we cater for them differently, if that wasn't the case they'd stay outdoors and it would be impossible to do practical or effective outreach with them. The Gate takes referrals ...