MOLLY SKYLES
Staff Reporter
With temperatures expected to remain below 200C this week, local shelters and soup kitchens have prepared for an influx of people.
Des Billings, operations manager and secretary for Service Dining Rooms, said the organisation experienced increased numbers of people during winter. People began queueing outside before the doors opened at 11.30am.
They received helpings of soup, rice, fruit, meat and bread for 5c each. Many went back for seconds, or took home portions to their families.
“We never ask questions, just provide meals to those in need,” Billings said.
The Service Dining Rooms in Canterbury Street cater for 500 people every day. The organisation also supplies about 500 servings to off-site locations for people who can’t make it into the city. These numbers are expected to increase as temperatures drop.
Billings said that although some of the food was donated by the Salvation Army or grocery shops, the organisation bought a lot. During winter it had to buy more to keep up with the high demand.
“It is our mission to help people, despite the rising costs of food and electricity in winter,” he said.
But a hot meal is not the only necessity for surviving the winter. Hassan Khan, chief executive of the Haven Night Shelter, said the shelter increased bed numbers in winter. The beds at the shelter’s 14 locations were generally full, but extra steps were taken in winter to keep as many people as possible off the streets.
The organisation has 970 formal beds, but expands to 1 300 beds and informal mattresses in winter, thanks to grants from the city and shelter partners.
The Haven Night Shelter sends field workers into the city and townships to encourage people to take up its offer of shelter.
Khan said: “It’s about gaining trust. We choose clients based on vulnerability. It’s a joint journey to get people back into their own homes or communities. Not everyone on the streets is our client.”
The Haven Night Shelter has appealed for donations of clothing, blankets and non-perishable food.
Khan appealed: “Don’t give food or money directly to the people on the streets, It gives them a reason to stay on the streets and makes it more difficult to convince them to get help.”