The Hackney Winter Night Shelter has been running for 15 years. It operates from a different church hall in the Borough each night of the week and is a stalwart of the raft of organisations providing much needed services to vulnerable people in the winter months.

The HWNS is open from 31 December to 31 March, and during 2009's session 2143 suppers were served and 2143 beds provided. The shelter does an excellent job providing hot food and overnight accommodation to help people through the worst winter and creates a positive and friendly atmosphere where all the guests and helpers sit down together to eat, chat, read newspapers and play incredibly competitive games of backgammon.

Support workers are on hand to provide practical support and advice about housing and returning to employment to help get people off the streets, and in 2009 73 people were helped into accommodation. The guests at the Hackney Winter Night Shelter are a diverse bunch from a range of ethnicities and backgrounds and similarly there is a plethora of reasons why they are all currently in need of support. The shelter provides a much needed service to its guests and is a tremendously rewarding experience for anyone who has a few hours a month to donate. To find out more about HWNS visit the website at http://www.hwns.org.uk/and to volunteer your services contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it - I recommend it and I'll definitely be returning to St Mary's on Defoe Road for my second year.

Helen Griffiths