A service in lament of homelessness was held at Leicester Cathedral. With Homelessness Sunday and World Homelessness Day taking place on 5 and 10 October respectively, the annual service was held on 17 October this year.
Led by the Revd Canon Alison Adams, the worship included reflective music, prose and prayer, offered by members of our communities who have experienced homelessness, and in remembrance of those who have died homeless in our city and county.
Prayers were also offered for those in so many different situations who currently find themselves homeless.
Bishop Martyn welcomed and acknowledged the acts of kindness carried out by volunteers and charity workers. He reminded us how even the smallest gestures can make a difference in people’s lives.
While expressing sadness for the loss of precious loved ones, he likened Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief to waves on the seashore, for we can never predict when waves of denial, anger bargaining, depression and acceptance are going to strike.
He went on to describe those five stages as the way we often discuss homelessness across social, personal, political and religious spaces.
1. Denial - He described denial being common in Parliament. Denial that homelessness is really a problem while highlighting the insensitivity of false claims that homelessness is “a lifestyle choice”. Such statements reveal that people have never really stopped to listen to someone experiencing homelessness. More often, discussions are about numbers, while these debates focus on street sleepers vs those in temporary accommodation vs those accessing help and so on. There is a denial that we are talking about real people who hold onto the same hopes and fears as the rest of us, while reminding us that the bible is clear on dignity and infinite worth of every human being, regardless of status and circumstance.
2. Anger – There is so much towards those experiencing homelessness and those who give their time and energy to supporting others. There is anger at the system, at the lack of resources and anger at a society which pushes people into homelessness while ignoring or abusing them. There is anger towards individual service providers who can’t provide exactly what’s wanted. And worse of all, the anger at ourselves - for ‘not being good enough’. Grief has a subtle way of undermining our faith in ourselves as well as our faith in God. Anger can be good and right, but only when it is expressed in a helpful way to drives us to make positive change.
3. Bargaining - this is the struggle to find meaning and purpose. Why has this happened? Why me? Why now? As a Christian priest, who regularly works with people who are grieving the loss of loved ones, the temptation is to jump in with easy answers and point people to hope. While the Christian story is all about God bringing us new life and hope, we saw that in our reading from Isaiah who promises that one day people will be filled with joy, while the mountains and hills will join in singing songs of joy. But as other parts of the Bible remind us, there is a time for grieving and a time for rejoicing. Sometimes glib talk of hope is unhelpful and we simply have to listen to the anger while providing reassurance that it’s okay to feel angry. When we are committed to being with someone through the waves of grief, we can be confident that the time will come when we can speak of hope. This hope is often expressed in small steps - changes don’t happen all at once - but we rejoice in small steps towards freedom and new life.
4. Depression - perhaps the saddest part of grief. We see this in so many young people today who look to the future and don’t see any hope. We have an epidemic of mental health problems among young people and those who are homeless. There are multiple causes, all complex. But somewhere at the heart, is the question of relationships. What a difference it makes when we have friends and family who walk with us through dark and joyful times. Relationships matter and that’s why, for Christians as well as people of other faiths, prayer, meditation, spiritual exercises are so important. They provide space each day to be reminded that we are not alone. God is with us
5. Acceptance – Finally, as we begin to accept the reality of our loss, we start to believe that life goes on and there can be real meaning and purpose to life. While this does not stop the waves of denial, anger, bargaining and depression washing over us at the most unexpected times, we start to recognise them for what they are - waves which hit the seashore, then recede.
Bishop Martyn closed by saying we should not simply accept homelessness. That every person who is homeless is one person too many. Everyone should have a place where they feel safe, with food, drink and shelter being guaranteed. A place where they can truly be themselves.
He lamented a hope for the day, that whatever the reason for being here, we will rededicate our lives to achieving that goal, and closed by thanking those who support others to bring an end to homelessness in our city and county, while granting the strength to carry on.
The service was organised with Leicester's Homelessness Charter, of which Bishop Martyn is Chair of the Oversight Group, and Canon Alison is Chair of the Management Group. The Charter seeks to build partnerships between those working in the homelessness field in order to better serve those affected.
This time of year is a key season to be raising awareness of homelessness, as the weather worsens, creating additional challenges for those living on the streets.
Leicester’s Homelessness Charter was launched in November 2018. It is a partnership organisation with just one employee and a host of folk from our partner members, committed to the principle of working together - building upon the synergy of common purpose, and the relationships which we develop, one with another – that this will achieve the best possible outcomes, even if we cannot easily solve everything.
The LLR Homelessness Alliance holds a similar role in Leicestershire and Rutland and we are currently actively working together to combine these two into one Charter for both City and County.
There are many strands to the partnership. Current workstreams include, for example, joined up working around prison release, healthcare needs, work and skills, supporting families in hotels... and many other issues. You will find more information on the website, including a comprehensive directory of services available in our City and County.
We hold regular monthly themed meetings which are open to all, and which enable us and partner organisations to update and learn from one another. These are held in Crafty St Martin’s coffee shop in St Martin’s Square, Leicester, on the first Wednesday of every month at 10.00am.
Any financial contribution you can make will go directly towards the work of the Charter and the initiatives which it supports including most importantly, ensuring that the voices of those who know best, namely people with lived experience of homelessness, feed into planning, strategy and the future provision of services.
Find out more www.leicesterhomelessnesscharter.co.uk