Breaking down barriers through community

When CCHP ran the church floor hostel (please see Our story) many people saw the shared meal each evening as a highlight of the project...

“It’s like a dinner party and you can’t tell who’s a volunteer and who is homeless”

We believe that good and healthy voluntary engagement with people experiencing homelessness can break down barriers, remove a sense of “us and them” and allow all to enjoy the transformative power of being in community.

We acknowledge that there are real differentials of material power and wealth between people who have a home and people who don’t. But we don’t believe that should stop us from creating spaces and cultures where people are able to come together with equal welcome and dignity, share in our common humanity and befriend people who might be seen as “different” to them.

Our experience of being Christians together in church gives us this conviction. In church all are welcome and equal as beloved children of God.

We know from conversations with both volunteers and members of the homeless community that co-creating such spaces and relationships can be transformative for people on all sides of the encounter.

“It’s about being human. There’s so much sharing you can do… the person who is homeless is going to touch the person who is listening in ways that they won’t realise at the time.”