Actively promote justice and compassion for the poor, vulnerable and oppressed, prioritising care through the maintenance of healthy welfare and charitable sectors for those who suffer disadvantage and need.
What excites me about a relatively small charity, “The Trussell Trust,” in the (also rather small) city of Salisbury is that it seeks to support the vulnerable, oppressed and disadvantaged both in the area of Salisbury and in areas of rural Bulgaria as well. Somewhat of an odd combination you might well think, but they’re proving that actively promoting justice and compassion for the poor doesn’t have to be restricted either outside the UK or just to the local community. What’s more, they are encouraging other towns to implement some of their ideas that have proved to work, enabling other communities to copy their example, promoting workable welfare and charitable systems across the UK.
The Trussell Trust is a relatively new charity, founded in 1997 and since its humble beginnings in a garden shed its growth has been incredible, with projects expanding all the time and the number of people they are continually reaching constantly growing. The Trussell Trust is a Christian charity founded on the principles of compassion, integrity, openness, commitment and respect for individuals. Its mission is focused on the passage in Matthew 25:35-45, that whatever we do for “the least of these,” we do for Jesus.
Practically the Trussell Trust’s work expands into many areas. The Food Bank Centre is the main project in the UK, pioneered initially in 2000 as a small operation in a garden shed, and now not only flourishing in Salisbury but in 20 other cities around the UK – including as far afield as Inverness. The principle of the Food Bank is to give free emergency food to single people and families in crisis, until the appropriate agencies can step in. It also provides food in bulk to local institutions, charities and hostels, including a women’s refuge, a breakfast club for deprived children and a charity feeding people who are sleeping rough. In 2005/2006, 1,700 adults and 1,200 children across South Wiltshire were fed. To meet this need, 27 tonnes of food were collected, providing 40,000 meals for people who would otherwise struggle to put food on the table. Food is either directly donated, for example by schools running Harvest collections, or by regular Food Bank collections held outside local supermarkets. Rather than asking people for money, they’re asked if they could just buy one or two extra items, such as a can of baked beans or a bag of pasta, to add to their shopping and donate on their way out the shop. This year’s harvest appeal also set a new record: 50 schools and 70 churches collected 12 tonnes of food. Those who have been helped by the Food Bank include a widow who was struggling to pay off funeral expenses and a family heavily in debt after the father’s business collapsed when he became ill.
So far it may sound like the Food Bank just provides emergency food and doesn’t really help people in the long term. Yet the level of care offered runs much deeper than that, to try and help people to sort out their problems in the long term. The Food Bank Centre itself provides a place where people can drop in for a coffee and a chat with someone who will listen to them and if necessary offer some advice. Many people sleeping rough come in during the day and describe the Food Bank Centre as a place of peace and love. Access is provided to many agencies such as the citizens advice bureau, debt counsellors and health visitors. Local professionals offer their services to the Trussell Trust and those it is seeking to help; many now base themselves at the Centre and offer people practical ways of escaping from the problems of long term poverty. Frequently, people say that they appreciate the love and support they receive from the Trussell Trust and the fact that there are people out there who will show them compassion and want to help when situations seem hopeless.
As mentioned, initially the Food Bank began as an operation from a garden shed. Since then, back in 2000, the Trussell Trust has been encouraging churches in other cities across the country to replicate the project and there are now a total of 20 Food Banks across the UK. Using experience, plus proven logistical, developmental and organisational skills, they have developed a comprehensive manual and training package to help churches and other Christian organisations set up and run successful Food Banks in their town. The hope is that one day every town will have a Food Bank to help those who are disadvantaged and in need on their doorstep. As the Trussell Trust director, Chris Mould, explained to me, many people are aware of the problems of poverty and want to do something to help, but they don’t know how to help or what to do. The Food Bank provides a manageable project that is both highly practical and workable and can have huge benefits for those who are disadvantaged and in need in the community.
In order to help raise much needed funds, the Trussell Trust launched “Re-store” at a community centre on a council estate in Salisbury back in 2005. Re-store is a charity shop selling affordable, good quality second hand clothes and household items including items such as baby clothes, school uniforms and even washing machines. Items are donated and the money generated from sales helps to fund the Trussell Trust. At the same time as raising money, the clever thing about the location of the shop is that it allows people without much living in the area to purchase good quality items cheaply – for people needing to buy things like school uniforms for their children this can be really helpful. Furthermore, they don’t have to pay the bus fare to get into the city centre; the shop is right where they need it in the heart of the estate. There’s also a café at the shop, allowing people from the council estate a place to call in for coffee and a chat – this helps to establish links with people in need and can be the starting point for offering them further help.
The Trussell Trust clearly demonstrates compassion for the poor and vulnerable right at the heart of the local community, but they also focus their attentions abroad, in rural communities in Bulgaria, where they have worked since 1997. Initial projects consisted of highly practical work in Lipnitza orphanage – for example improving the sanitation and heating facilities and vaccinating the children against flu. However, the work has since become much more than just physical with relationships being developed with the children, staff and community. Each summer, the orphanage is forced to close down as government funding only allows it to stay open during term times. This means that many of the children return home to communities where there is frequently no one to properly look after them, where they are often subject to abuse and left to wander the street. Frequently they become mixed up in drugs and crime, or for some of the teenage girls, they end up pregnant. To help keep the children safe during this time, the Trussell Trust runs respite summer camps each summer. Not only do these camps keep the children off the streets, they also provide love, emotional support, fun and a chance to learn more about the Christian faith. As relationships have gradually been built with the community, the Trussell Trust also plans to launch several sustainable development projects this year, including farming projects and providing goats for families.
A problem the Trussell Trust has recently faced has been that the children who were 6 when work first began in Bulgaria are now 16 and about to be kicked out of the orphanage. What next? For many, it would simply be a return to their communities, to a life of poverty, crime and drugs – particularly given the very high unemployment figures in Bulgaria, especially amongst the rural communities. To try and combat this potential problem, this year has seen the launch of a half-way house, The House of Joshua, to try and de-institutionalise the teenagers and prepare them for mainstream society. The program primarily equips them with life and vocational skills to help them break out of the cycles of poverty, and the house they stay in during this time provides a loving, secure and nurturing environment.
The final involvement in Bulgaria to mention is the Trussell Trust’s annual Christmas shoe box appeal. Last year 4,624 Christmas boxes were distributed providing practical gifts for children and their families such as toothbrushes, gloves, hats, soap and small gifts to brighten their Christmas’. In the freezing cold winters of Bulgaria, practical gifts such as hats and gloves are hugely appreciated. For most of the children, their Christmas shoe box is the only present they’ll get, yet it isn’t just about practical gifts: the box speaks a message of love, care and concern to the children that many of them have never really experienced. Christmas shoe boxes are a highly practical, workable and accessible way for people in the UK to demonstrate care for those suffering disadvantage and who are in need. Again, the Christmas shoe boxes are an idea that other communities and towns can copy, demonstrating how the Trussell Trust encourages others to replicate its welfare and charitable ideas.
One of the most striking things about the Trussell Trust is the volunteers themselves. Many of them come from very difficult backgrounds – some have been homeless or have recently come out of prison, some have had to rely on the Food Bank to get them through crisis periods and some have serious disabilities. Yet they are the Trust’s “success” stories and in turn they want to give something back. Furthermore, having come from difficult situations themselves, they of all people are in the best place to empathise with those who need help. Volunteering can also give them a purpose, a sense of being valued and enable them to get back on their feet and find their confidence again. Enabling people to themselves become volunteers is therefore yet another way that the Trussell Trust is able to reach out. They give people a loving and nurturing environment in which to grow in confidence and skills, and give them the self-worth that comes from feeling that they are able to offer something back to society and in turn help others.
I hope all this makes clear that the Faith and Nation recommendation to promote justice and compassion for the poor, vulnerable and oppressed really is possible, in simple, practical and effective ways. Care can be prioritised through a variety of welfare and charitable sectors, using different initiatives to reach those who need reaching. Implementing this doesn’t have to be limited to either those on our doorstep or to those further afield – rather the Trussell Trust is proof that we can promote justice and compassion for both. Furthermore, they want to encourage others to do the same in their areas and are keen to equip them to do so.
For further information about the Trussell Trust and in particular if you are interested in establishing a Food Bank in your area, log on to http://www.trusselltrust.org/
Susannah Clark, Public Theology Researcher.
