Providing somewhere safe to sleep

Just before Christmas we received this request for James* who was experiencing homelessness, and was having to go to extreme lengths to stay warm and dry. The foodbank in Wales, that was supporting him, could see how hard his situation was:

"James* is a homeless man who is currently sleeping on the floor of a public toilet, as there is no emergency accommodation in the area for him to use. This request is for a tent that he can use to stay warm and dry throughout the winter, but compact enough to pack up and keep it safe from anyone that might try to steal it from him."

James's request was met quickly by one donor who was touched by his story. The foodbank gave this message of thanks to them:

"Thank you so much for your generosity. J was super grateful to have a means of staying dry and warm through the tent that was bought. It gave him relief, especially in the cold snap that has happened."

The donor who gave towards his request was so touched by his story she wondered if she could help him further. We contacted the foodbank to see if there was anything further that James may need. They said:

"We haven't seen J in the Foodbank since we arranged this tent for him. We know that he's engaging with a local coffee morning in a local church and building up friendships there. Similarly, the tent enabled him to move out of the toilet and someone allowed him to pitch his tent in their garden which he said feels much more secure, away from the general public."

We're thankful that James is managing to build friendships at a local coffee morning, but more importantly he has somewhere safe to sleep thanks to an Acts 435 donation.