I took the opportunity to meet with the wonderful volunteers at Oldham Street Angels to see the work they do to help homeless people in our community.
Homeless people too often fall through the cracks and have complex problems. I heard many personal stories and it is clear to me that if we fail to support people to get back on track and live a stable and productive life, we always pay more as a society in the end. Meanwhile more lives are ruined as a consequence of not taking joined up and meaningful action.
The project supports anyone who presents and does so without judgement, and without fear or favour. They just want to show that society doesn’t turn its back on people when times get hard.
Although they routinely signpost people to seek further support and they do offer advice, they are deliberately not replicating formal public services, or that which requires professional support beyond its volunteer base. The group have received support from Mayor Andy Burnham’s homeless scheme, as well as locally though the health authority and council, and kind public donations too.
They are represented significantly by local faith groups who work together as a network to bring volunteers together and add capacity.
The group also provide night-time support on a Friday and Saturday to support the night-time economy, ensuring visitors are kept safe. It was for this and other work they were awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service, which is billed as the MBE for groups.
Keep up the good work!
Jim McMahon OBE MP 