“One of many things we fund locally using money raised at Chester’s new ShareShop next to the Roman Amphitheatre, in the old Dawson’s Music Shop, is a Day Centre for people who are homeless and or refugees, which is located under the Welsh Presbyterian Church on City Rd.” says Adam Dandy, Founder and Trustee of SHARE.
The charity have announced that following recent fundraising and the success of the new shop , enough funds have been raised to employ an additional Support Worker at SHARE. This means that the charity now have enough staff to extend the opening hours of the day centre from 3 to 5 days, as well as 2 evening sessions per week from May.
Adam says that the new sessions which will run Monday to Friday 11am till 1pm and Tuesday and Thursday evenings 6m to 8pm, known as Sandra’s Supper Club, will be open to anyone who is hungry or in need, offering a place to come for a hot meal, warm and cold drinks, fruit and snacks as well as access to free warm clothing and toiletries, including free sanitary products. “On top of meal times, we also offer daytime sessions for mental health and drug addiction, an arts club with free supplies and access to the probation service, housing providers and a bank of computers all with free internet access.”
SHARE aim to extend the day care centre’s opening hours further to a 7 days a week, 365 days a year operation from 2024. This depends on the funds raised from the continuing success of the ShareShop. “So next time you’re in town, please pop in to the ShareShop and grab a freshly brewed latte, flat white, cappuccino or delicious hot chocolate, and slice of homemade cake or a sandwich, whilst you check out Chester’s Biggest Charity Shop.
“We also have a meeting room complete with a timeline of the City’s amazing historic events, which you can rent for any occasion or business meeting for just £15 per hr, with free Wi-Fi, cafe and toilet facilities on hand, as well as a children’s soft play area, complete with VIP pram parking bays! Not forgetting our famous swing seats inside our Coffee Sheds!”
SHARE have also relaunched their Buy a Brick scheme. Originally launched in 2016 the campaign resulted in the purchase of a house which was converted into a home for homeless people. There are 145,000 bricks for sale at £1 each with the goal of buying a second house. Bricks can be bought online or in the Pepper street shop.
The Chester blog 