Author Archives: Matthew Conlon

Guest stories: John

John’s got a wicked sense of humour which belies the difficult life he’s led that brought to our door. Originally from up north, he was working in security for G4S until they started bringing in the army to help fill their Olympic contract. He lost his job with around eight other colleagues – and then found himself on the street.

Wanting to work for a living, he took to selling the Big Issue outside Pret’s Kings Cross branch. One day, he started clearing up some mess outside the shop and the area manager called him over to say he needn’t. John said he didn’t mind and continued.

The next day, the branch manager called him in for a meeting and offered him the chance of a job through the Pret Foundation. Following his successful interview, his new employer asked whether he had a home – as he didn’t, he was referred to Shelter from the Storm. He’s now been with us for over three months and is saving up for a home of his own. While with us, he’s started writing his own story which he’s also illustrating. He’s been entered for a writing competition and someone has approached him about publishing it. Things are looking up…

Meet a volunteer: Jane Third

My name is Jane, I’m 32 years old and I have been volunteering for Shelter from the Storm for around four years. When I’m not volunteering I run an independent record company. I have always aimed to divide my time between music and social work but it’s not always easy to find a way.

Throughout my 20s I organised a number of fundraising events for Crisis and Shelter, but never managed to feel like I was truly learning anything about homelessness or making a difference in a meaningful way to me. I discovered Shelter from the Storm through a friend who volunteered there and I knew straight away from my first shift on new years day, a little worse for wear, that it was exactly what I had been looking for: non-judgemental, non-bureaucratic and open minded. Shelter from the Storm has no brand or ethos other than to care for people with nowhere to turn.

I work the saturday evening shift from 5pm to 9pm and generally either help out in the kitchen cooking and serving dinner or just mill around catching up with the guests and folding the odd duvet cover. I’m also involved in the fundraising side. We have some great partners over the years – Mother Advertising Agency, Paramount, Mason and Taylor, the Duke of Cambridge – and we have been lucky to have some of the best musical and comedy talent in the country give up their time for us in the past. Hopefully this will continue to grow as we rely entirely on donations for our existence.

To new volunteers i would say: this is not a place to come to be badged up and told what to do. The volunteers ARE the shelter – if you see something which could be improved, don’t think that it’s someone else’s responsibility, just get on with it. It’s a very empowering feeling and it will change how you interact with the world in your day to day life.

Guest stories: Angel

Angel can generally be found sitting quietly at the shelter, drawing. At 37, he’s been living in the UK for nine months – and at Shelter from the Storm, just a month. He’s Bulgarian, but moved here from Athens where he lived with his Afghani boyfriend and ran a successful hairdressing studio until the economy turned.

He loves England and moved here because he felt ostracised in his homeland because of his sexuality. While his mother understands and loves him, his family find it difficult to relate to him, still wondering why he isn’t married with children. He claims he has nothing there and was constantly depressed: he moved to find a better life in England.

Now that he’s at the shelter, he’s continuing English lessons and has made some nice friends there. He enjoys his new home but is hoping for his own soon. He’s just found a job as a hairdresser and when he describes it, his face lights up with such warmth. Slowly, he’s starting to rebuild his life.

Meet a volunteer: Elena Salvoni

Earlier this week, the shelter had a very special volunteer come talk with the guests and spread her famous charm and limitless warmth: the Queen of Soho, Elena Salvoni.

At 92, she only just finished working full time at the restaurant that still bears her name, Elena’s L’Etoile, last year.

Now, she visits the shelter regularly, sharing the abundant hospitality she’s renowned for and swapping stories with guests. And what stories she has.

She began her career as a seamstress but had to stop when the work dried up after the second world war and material stocks were low. Following advice from her friends, but without any experience, she went for a job at Café Bleu at a time when only men waited in restaurants. In her first week, when her manager saw she had a gift for making customers feel at home, she became a waitress and stayed on for five years, moving over to legendary Soho restaurant Bianchi’s after a kitchen fire put Café Bleu out of action. At Bianchi’s – on the site of where Little Italy is now – she worked for another 30 years, rising to become London’s first female Maitre’d and only leaving briefly during that time to have her daughter and son Louie (our co-founder) 10 years later.

While she never wanted to own her own restaurant, she loved her job, making lifelong friends which included some of London’s most famous residents, such as John Hurt, Paul Schofield and Melvyn Bragg who, many years later, presented her with one of her seven national industry awards. The life achievement award from Caterer and Hotelkeeper for services to the industry was presented to her by James Nesbitt. She again became the first woman to achieve this honour.

Another of her old customers, Nick Lander, who, in 1985, had just invested in L’Escargot took Elena for dinner to ask her to work for him there. She’d just retired at 65 but she still agreed, saying she’d give it a year – she stayed 10, moving then to the eponymous Elena’s L’Etoile.

Even though she has now officially retired at 92, she remains unstoppable, hosting a lunch every second Wednesday of the month at Little Italy where all her old customers come back to visit. For the past year, she also visits the shelter on many a Sunday evening, where she seems just as comfortable as she did running those legendary Soho restaurants. Her gift for making people feel at home goes a long way at the shelter: the queen reigns on.

Soccer AM presenter auctions his car for Shelter from the Storm

Soccer AM presenter Max Rushden and regular volunteer is auctioning his car to raise money for our shelter.

Max has donated the 2001 Renault Clio Alize for sale on celebrity auction website Sellebrity, run by former Norwich City and Leicester City footballer Darren Eadie. All the proceeds will go to help Shelter from the Storm.

“Darren was tweeting about Sellebrity and I just thought it would be funny, and great for the charity, if I gave them my car,” said Max, 33.

“It’s the first car I ever drove – it belonged to my mate John who bought it new when we were at sixth form. I bought it off him and spent four years hosting Soccer AM getting abuse because other people were turning up in Porsches and what have you. But I love it and I’m sure whoever buys it will love it.”

Max, who worked in radio for BBC London, 5Live and TalkSport before landing the Soccer AM job, was introduced to Shelter from the Storm by a friend.

“I did some charity stuff in Africa for a week, building stuff and helping out orphans and kids with HIV, but it wasn’t sustainable to pop to South Africa every week to help out,” he said.

“I wanted to do something sustainable and local to home, and a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to come down to the shelter. I really enjoyed it; I enjoy cooking and it’s a real challenge to see what you’ve got to cook with and trying to make the best thing you can with it.

“I’m learning all the time and as you go on you get more involved. It’s an emergency shelter so the people there literally have nowhere to go and that’s where they end up. There’s a huge variety of people there, from 18 to 80, people born and bred in London and others from all over the world.

“I mainly chop onions and gossip while someone else does all the hard work, but over the past year or so I’ve got to know the people staying there, and really believe in what the shelter does in trying to help them get into a position where they can get a job, and somewhere to live and get back into normal life, if you like.

“There are so many things that we need – the beds are just camp beds so it would be great to get more beds in there. You have to remember that this is where they are living so hopefully there’s more we can do in terms of making it more like a home, even like having a decent TV. I know there are more important things in life, but those things make a difference if someone’s been out on the streets all day.”

As well as the car, a 2001 metallic blue Renault Clio Alize with 69,000 miles on the clock, the buyer will inherit the contents of Max’s boot, including a Charlton Athletic home shirt signed by Dennis Rommedahl, a Celtic home shirt, a book by John Niven, golf balls, tees, and a selection of mix tapes made by former Chesterfield striker Martin Gritton.

Former England under 21 international Eadie said: “We’re extremely grateful to Max for letting us auction his car for such a worthy cause – I hope he’s now driving something that won’t show him up in his celebrity-filled car park!”

So head over to sellebrity now and start bidding!

Come to the comedy event of year for Shelter from the Storm: 5 July 2012

Shelter from the Storm in association with PBJ Management present an evening of brand new comedy

Where: Mason and Taylor, 51-55 Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA

When: from 7.00pm on 5 July 2012

Tickets: Seetickets

Get ready to ROFL at the comedy event of year. Thanks to PBJ and JBJ Management, we are lucky enough to be hosting an exclusive showcase of their best new talent compered by the excellent Nish Kumar. Prepare to laugh your socks off along with Pat Cahill, Daniel Simonsen and Matt Rees all in aid of Shelter From The Storm. Imagine seeing Peter Kaye or Eddie Izzard play to 100 people before they were famous: this is your chance!

Tickets start from just £20 and each comes with a free speciality beer courtesy of Mason and Taylor. The entire ticket price for this exclusive event goes directly to those who need it most. Get yours here – and bring your friends too.

We hope you will join us on 5 July for some big laughs for a uniquely good cause. With your help we hope to continue helping destitute people get back on their feet and into permanent accommodation.

Guest stories: Henry

At 67, Henry is an English citizen, a veteran of the Vietnam war, a gardener, and an avid reader, with gentle eyes and a gentler American drawl from decades spent abroad. He returned to England ten weeks ago and has been homeless ever since.

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.

Guest stories: meet Kumar

Kumar*, 29, had been living at the shelter for over three months. Before being referred to the shelter, he’d been on the streets for six months, trying to find a job. Having worked in the hotel industry and, for a brief stint, in bingo halls, he had wanted to shift careers to one more suited to his masters degree in IT from the University of Westminster.

After two years of trying to find a suitable role, he had run out of money to pay his rent. With nowhere else to turn, he stayed on the streets using buses in central London as his main place to sleep. After a chance meeting, he found out about Shelter from the Storm and was able to stay.

He found his first IT-related role in late February and is thoroughly enjoying it. He’s now saved up a deposit and will shortly be moving into his own accommodation.

*Not his real name

Our surprise chefs: AA Gill and Nicola Formby

Last night, we were delighted to welcome AA Gill and Nicola Formby into our kitchen to create a culinary masterpiece for our guests. Guests were treated to a three-course spread of wonderful, hearty fare by the lovely couple, who also had a chance to meet and hear the stories of some of the people who live at the shelter. It was a very special evening – thank you so much!

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

Guest stories: Anthony

Anthony, 45, was born in the UK, but left with his family for Nigeria when he was five. He came back here when he was 18.

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!