On Friday 4th August our Partnership Manager Ross and Projects and Fundraising Officer Tom ventured out to East Croydon station to join local Rail Enforcement Officers (REOs) in their MESSAGE campaign.
PICTURED: Ross and Tom standing at their Emmaus SLC booth at East Croydon station.
We were also joined there by fellow charity organisations The Samaritans and the Salvation Army.
PICTURED: Representatives from the Salvation Army.
The purpose of MESSAGE is for REOs and charity organisations to travel to various train stations across the UK and raise awareness towards issues related to homelessness, suicidal thoughts and addiction. People who struggled with these issues can often be found at popular train stations such as East Croydon station due to the high traffic of commuters increasing their chances of being noticed.
PICTURED: REO’s at their booth.
Seeing as Croydon is an area where Emmaus SLC is active, we thought joining the MESSAGE campaign would be a great opportunity to inform the local public about issues related to homelessness in their area and what they can do to help.
From 10am – 2pm Ross and Tom stood at their booth and informed passing commuters about the issues of those struggling with homelessness in Croydon and what Emmaus does to help. We were fortunate enough to meet a lot of people from different backgrounds who either wanted to know about homeless issues or had their own personal experiences they wanted to share with us. We handed out leaflets which contained important information about Emmaus SLC, our communities, our mission and our progress.
A huge thank you to the REOs who included us in their brilliant campaign and thank you to everyone who stopped to chat with us.
If you ever see someone rough sleeping who might need assistance, whether it be at a train station or elsewhere, we recommend contacting StreetLink. They will get in touch with local support services who will provide assistance.
Website: www.streetlink.org.uk
Phone: 0300 500 0914
StreetLink also has a mobile App available from the Appstore or Google Play Store.