Fireside: Homelessness Awareness

Last night, our ward held a Fireside to raise awareness about homelessness in our town. We were given a presentation by Susan Blythe, who is the Manager of "The Room at the Inn", a charity that offers warm food and shelter to the homeless in the local area. 

We sang the beautiful hymn, Have I Done Any Good in the World Today? and one of the youth offered a lovely opening prayer to set things in motion, before Bishop Gray spoke to us about the Parable of the Good Samaritan and how we can apply the lessons of this parable to our lives today.

Following Bishop Gray's address, Sister Brett read out a personal story about Sister Johnston's mother and her experiences of being homeless in Australia. It was a very touching story and I don't think there was a dry eye in the house!

We also had speakers from the local political parties, who gave their own personal take on the issue of homelessness and possible steps we can take to resolve the current problems and prevent further cases of homelessness. 

It was great that we were all able to get together as one body and learn about steps we can each individually take to provide assistance to those who need our help. 

Have you ever thought about what you would do if you were homeless tonight? Where would you go? How would you wash and shower? Get a drink of water? Wouldn't you want to retain your dignity? Of course! There is so much that we take for granted that those without homes struggle through, day by day, night by night. It's so important that we support our local charities such as "The Room at the Inn", whichever way we can.

Can you donate much-needed blankets, clothing, toiletries, sleeping bags? Can you give up some of your time to help with some volunteer work with your local shelter? Can you just raise awareness about the state of homelessness in your local area? It doesn't matter how much or how little you can do individually - if we all work together, we will achieve much!

"By small means the Lord can bring about great things." (1 Nephi 16:29)

Think about it, as the words of the hymn 223 reminds us, have you done any good in the world today?

If you would like to help Room at the Inn in Warrington, please phone 01925 632771 and ask for Sue Blythe. Alternatively, call into 3 Winmarleigh Street, Warrington.