At 67, 

There is no anger in his voice as he tells his story, though he deserves to be angry; he blames no one, though he could. He is simply confused that after ten weeks of homelessness he is no closer to having his own bed. "I don't want anything fancy," he adds, "but some days you want to sleep in, don't want to wake up so early and wander around without your own spot." The wandering has been even harder since a bus accident that put him in hospital for a month, pinched several nerves in his back, and continues to cause him pain even as he sits quietly with his coffee.

With no access to the veteran's benefits he receives from America, and no help with housing from the  council, Shelter from the Storm is his only home.

*Not his real name

You can check out the pictures from the night in our gallery here.

I came to the Shelter in September (2011).  Last May I was living in Bermondsey but couldn't afford the rent so had to move out.  For the following five months, I was all over the place - using any savings I had to stay in hostels or anywhere.  By September I'd run out of money.  I had nowhere to go.  Without Shelter from the Storm I honestly don't know where I'd be.  If you can't sleep anywhere, or don't get food, you can't even think about getting a job and helping yourself.

The shelter gave me the chance to collect myself - I didn't have to worry about where my next meal was coming from.  If it hadn't been for here I could be dead, especially when you think about how cold it's been recently.  Since coming to the shelter, I've managed to get a job doing administration and book keeping for a movie company. They're going to make me permanent staff next month, which is cool.  And I've got a flat near Catford that I'm moving into soon as well.  I will miss the shelter, but I can't wait to get my own room and my own space.  I would love to come back as a volunteer one day.  I want to give something back.  I might give myself a few months break though!

Andrej with his Pret colleaguesAndrej, a 19 year old Lithuanian man, was a guest of Shelter from the Storm between May and November 2011 before he found his own place. Here’s his story.

I moved over from Lithuania in March 2010 when I was 18 years old. I started work as a dishwasher in a number of hotels. There was a guy in one of my jobs who was bullying me and one day, we got into a fight – we both lost our jobs. After a couple of weeks, without a job, I couldn’t pay my rent and became homeless. I would sleep in buses and on trains – I made a map of places where I could get into them where there were no barriers. For food, I’d collect the competition stamps from Macdonalds – the ones where if you had enough, you could get free food.

I was still looking for jobs and going for job interviews at the time but I couldn’t shower and I don’t think I gave the best impression.

I was then put in touch with Alone in London – they gave me some money for food and referred me to Shelter from the Storm. A few days later, I was living there. Shelter from the Storm helped me - the other guests and the volunteers are nice. I really enjoyed it there.

I was still looking for a job and Louie put in me touch with Pret*. I got a job there in July and they’ve really looked after me. I did a three-month paid apprenticeship and during that time, they gave me free travel allowance and vouchers for clothes. When I finished the apprenticeship, they helped me to buy a laptop.

At Pret, I’m a member of team and I do everything from organizing the float, to serving people, cooking hot food and even being a barista. It’s a good job – they’ve given me some great training. I’m now training to become a shift leader with lots of responsibility.  

I still come back to Shelter from the Storm for dinner. Thanks to Louie and Sheila for taking me in and helping me get the job.

* Pret partners with Shelter from the Storm to help some of the young guests obtain training and work experience at their stores.

Our Xmas fete on Islington Green on 17 December was a huge success with hundreds of people taking part, helping us raise close to £6,000 – a fantastic result.

And the generosity didn’t stop there. Through our Xmas appeal, supported by great coverage in various press articles, we raised in total over £20,000 which will go a long way in helping us fulfill some of our ambitions for the shelter, including:

• Providing our guests with a counseling service one night a week
• Providing regular medical support and surgeries
• Building a mezzanine floor to provide a treatment and counselling room, a clothing store and space for language and IT tuition
• Building a new shower block and refurbishing our shelter to enable us to provide a more comfortable environment for our guests.

And, of course, it will go towards the smooth day-to-day running of the shelter.

Thank you all so very much.