The centre is open on Monday (1pm to 3pm), Wednesday (12.30pm to 1.30pm) and Friday (1pm to 3pm).

For more information about the work of Friends of the Homeless you can visit their website.

So who are the homeless? When we think of the homeless, I guess most of us would typically or initially think of the person or people sleeping rough on the streets; with no roof over there heads. Crisis, who are one of the larger charities in the country working with the homeless, define homelessness as “the problem faced by people who lack a place to live that is supportive, affordable, decent and secure.” And it affects some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

It can hit families and single people alike, young or old, men or women. People lose their homes for a wide range of reasons: unemployment, falling out with their family, suffering from domestic violence, mental health problems or being evicted by their landlord to name but a few.

The homeless are not just the “rough sleepers” but also people that are staying with friends or relatives; sleeping on floors or sofas (sofa surfing as it is called) or in some form of emergency, temporary and insecure accommodation.

A good example is the Women's Refuge. Women who are in an abusive relationship, often with children, will be forced to leave their home to escape the violence and abuse they suffer. This might be physical and or mental of course. They will often have nothing more than what they stand up in. They will be moved to a refuge outside of their normal area and stay at the refuge for a time whilst waiting for the local authority to provide some form of more permanent accommodation.

Recent headlines in the newspapers about the affordability of housing and the increase in interest rates can only mean that more people will be affected if this continues. Many people are extending themselves beyond their financial means to purchase a home. For some, every rise in the interest rate is a step nearer to repossession. One charity recently put up this poster as part of their publicity campaign; “most of us are just four paychecks away from becoming homeless”. A sobering thought.

Becoming homeless can lead to a rapid downward spiral, which is very difficult to recover from, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Whatever the cause, these people enter what I can only call a homeless cycle. It typically follows the same pattern.

At whatever point you start, the cycle is much the same for most. One thing leads to another.

Once homeless, the world can seem and feel like it’s against you and trying to get out of this cycle can feel like pushing treacle uphill. Some will loose their self respect and their will to live. Some will find some crumb of comfort in things which will help to try and blot out the situation they find themselves in everyday. That can then lead to other problems of course for them and for society in general.

For a number of years the group ran a night shelter just over the Christmas period where some of the street homeless in Fareham and Gosport could get temporary respite from their situation.

Two Saints saw what we were doing and came alongside and opened a night shelter in the same building that was being used for the drop-in. The rest is history as they say. Two Saints opened the direct access hostel.

So the work of The Friends was finished…..or was it. Well not quite. The group continued to receive a large volume of food donated by the local churches and schools in the area. Copying a project operating in Southampton, the Basics Bank was opened in the centre of Fareham. People who are homeless, at risk of becoming homeless or anyone going through a crisis can come and get up to a week’s worth of food, completely free. We also provide toiletries and nappies where needed. The project has been running for just over three years now and been able to feed over 2,000 people for a week, thanks to people such as you.

On the face of it, The Basics Bank provides food parcels. However, there is a hidden message which is much greater and the hope is that this is recognized by the recipient. The food and other items are given freely to us so that we can freely pass them on to those in need. This is in the same way that we believe God gives his love to us freely for us to pass on. It is not just food, it is a parcel that says we care and that you the recipient is loved.

Half of the people that we help come to us from the Gosport area. Our centre is in Fareham which means that people have to try and find some way to get to us. However, we are hoping to soon be in a position of working with another charity based in Gosport which will make our service more easily accessible.

The hostel can accommodate up to sixteen people and it is full most, if not all of the time. Inevitably there are times when there are more than sixteen people in need and we meet some of these. Whilst we are able to provide tinned food, we are unable to provide a hot meal. We are very aware that for someone sleeping rough, a tin of cold food or packet of biscuits is limiting. So the Basics Bank is planning to launch a voucher scheme so that people sleeping rough will be able to get a hot meal from a local café. We will buy the vouchers worth £3.50 and give them to people in need, and would be pleased if anyone would be interested in sponsoring a meal or two.