Volunteers speak about the challenges facing Camden’s rough sleepers amid the crisis

A SHORT film documenting the work of homelessness grassroots group Streets Kitchen during the lockdown was released this week.

‘Saving London’s Forgotten Patients’ by video journalist Frederick Gillingham features founder Jon Glackin and volunteers as they brought food and resources to people in dire need through the pandemic.

Much of the five-minute video follows their work in Camden, as the team work with rough sleepers in otherwise empty streets.

Mr Gillingham said: “It was a time when most were taking comfort in their families and being safe at home and I wondered what was happening to those on the streets without that option?

“What I witnessed on the ground was incredible people from all walks of life putting their hands in to help, and it showed me what was possible if communities come together to protect the most vulnerable.”

Since April, the group says the number of people it comes into contact with each day has doubled, a trend they expect to continue as support for rough sleepers such as the ‘Everyone In’ scheme is withdrawn.
And policies like the eviction ban, designed to protect renters on the cusp of homelessness, are lifted putting thousands of people in unstable living conditions.

Streets Kitchen says they are looking for more volunteers to help with the growing workload, as well as those willing to supply paper bags and eggs to the cause.