Joanne- Open Door Night Shelter

Joanne

Office of Speaker’s Counsel 

"I volunteer as a food and meal organiser for the Open Door night shelter for rough sleepers in St Albans. I became involved in the charity after attending a session some years ago organised by the "Parliament and rough sleeping" initiative. The Open Door charity was founded 30 years ago and it has four main areas of work: providing breakfast, lunch and dinner for the homeless 365 days a year; providing a Safer Streets Outreach worker; providing counselling services and running a Winter Beds project to supplement the 12 places available at the shelter. I have also participated in the charity's annual winter "sleepout". Participants raise funds for the charity by being sponsored to sleep out in the open for just one night in the year. "