Serving and befriending the homeless in Brighton

Each week the Brighton United Reformed Church runs a drop-in cafe for the poorest people in Brighton. Each week we see the same men and women traverse the city, not just for soup and a coffee but for company and community spirit found in the room.

A curiously upbeat atmosphere is most striking in a place filled with some of the least fortunate people this country contains. Yet these are no charity cases, but characters, personalities, and, I'd like to think, friends.

Each week I am regaled with a joke, anecdote or amusing story. Not here will one find the stereotypical image of a smelly, dirty drunk muttering and grunting to himself. As they tuck into the sandwiches, hot drinks and cakes, it is more than just nourishment being shared.

Although I and others volunteer there, the support we provide is nothing compared to that which these men and women find from the sense of belonging, community and of being in it together. One can see the joy brought by being able to tell someone who actually cares about your situation, and to be able to reciprocate that level of concern.

Getting to know the customers and some of their stories each week has been an honour and something I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to do. This is what serving the homeless means to me, and no longer will I satisfy my conscience throwing a loose £1 into an upturned hat on the curb.