The committee of ‘Serving the Homeless’ would like to extend their thanks and Christmas greetings to all who have supported our work this year. With the help of your donations, participation in events and membership of the 200 club, we have been able to: Furnish 8 new rooms for Southend YMCA to house young homeless clients; Spend £200 per month on fresh meat, milk and cheese to provide meals at all the properties run by HARP, as well as an annual amount of £3,500 for training programmes, (80% of clients are under 25); Collect large amounts of dried goods and clothing from participating churches to be given to HARP clients; Provide another £1000 to support the Churches Winter Shelter programme; Buy a large new washing machine and tumble dryer for the night shelter; Send a young client to attend basketball trials in Barcelona, where he successfully gained a 2 year scholarship to play in Italy- a life changer! In all we have spent £15,744 on your behalf this year. We invite you to join us on Friday 18th Dec at 7pm at Our Lady of Lourdes Church for a short Carol service followed by mince pies and mulled wine in the parish centre. We wish you a very happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year ( Jo Ronan, chair of STH Committee)