If you would like to volunteer your time to help homeless people in Cambridge and Wisbech, why not get in touch with one of the following charities that are already working with homeless people and those who are 'vulnerably housed'.
Cambridge Churches Homeless Project (Cambridge)
The Cambridge Churches Homeless Project was established to provide emergency accommodation for rough sleepers during the winter.
CCHP is effectively a pop-up shelter with several Churches and a synagogue taking it in turns each night to open their doors to 15 homeless people. Our homeless guests are referred by Jimmy's and other homeless agencies. The project runs from the start of December and until Easter and our guests receive a warm friendly welcome, a hot meal and somewhere safe to spend the night.
CCHP works with Hope Cambridge and other partner agencies to ensure the work complements existing support. These organisations include Cambridge City Council, Jimmy's, Wintercomfort for the homeless, the Street Outreach Team, Dual Diagnosis Street Team, The Access Surgery, Counting Every Adult (a service for chronically excluded individuals).
CCHP works with guests and volunteers of all faiths and none to offer this provision. A team of 300 volunteers are needed to ensure the project can run each night (cooking cleaning, befriending, overnight presence in the church etc).
Training and awareness raising sessions are run during November each year prior to the project starting. These help people to learn more about the different ways that people can volunteer and cover good practice guidelines that volunteers are asked to sign up to.
Please see the website for more information.
Wintercomfort for the homeless (Cambridge)
Open 7 days a week, Wintercomfort for the homeless is a day centre supporting people who are homeless and the street-life community.
Guests can access a hot cooked breakfast, showers, washing machines and donated clothing. Support workers provide help with job searching, form filling, finding work experience, improving IT and literacy skills etc.
Please see the website for more information
Jimmy's Cambridge (Cambridge)
Jimmy's work with the local community, volunteers and partner agencies to deliver 24/7 emergency accommodation and supported housing for those who would otherwise be homeless or vulnerably housed.
Please see website if you are interested in volunteering at Jimmy's:
Cambridge Cyrenians (Cambridge)
Cambridge Cyrenians provides a range of accommodation, support and specialist services for homeless men and women.
Please see website if you are interested in volunteering with the Cyrenians:
Caring for Cambridgeshire's Homeless (Cambridgeshire)
Small teams of volunteers take out donated items of hot drinks, food, toiletries, clothing to people on the streets.
We try to bring a sense of worth and a feeling of comfort to our street friends whether that be in the form of a cup of tea or a friendly chat. You can help us by becoming a street volunteer or by helping us to find 'useful resources'.
Please make contact via the Facebook page.
The Ferry Project (Wisbech)
The aim of Ferry Project is not simply to provide accommodation for those in need, but to give people the skills they need to enable them to live independently.
The Project provides a short-term interaction in an individual's life when they have an immediate need. We 'ferry' them to solid ground so they can move on with their lives.
The Project can offer opportunities in a variety of areas including property maintenance, building facilities management, cleaning, retail, hospitality, catering and administration.
If you would like to volunteer with The Ferry Project please see our website.
CamCRAG
CamCRAG is a registered charity who send regular convoys of volunteers and aid from the Cambridge region to help refugees in Europe. The organisation collects donations, holds fundraising events, funds projects overseas and raises awareness of the refugee crisis.
You can learn more about CamCRAG at their website