One of the first thing Graham Foster says to us at the start of the night is: “What we do round here is take the mickey out of each other and take the mickey out of the homeless too.”
That might sound inappropriate but this is one of the leaders of a Lincoln charity called Let Them Eat Cake – and bantering with the people they help on the streets is absolutely crucial to the relationships they build.
LSJ News, then, is with the Graham and the group for its weekly walk around the city centre in which those in need of help will be offered food, friendly faces and signposting to key services.
And this is more crucial in Lincoln than ever – due to the rise in rough sleeping here. According to homeless charity Shelter, some 380 people go without a roof in Lincolnshire on any given night.
Tonight, as the group march through the Cornhill Quarter – with three trolleys full of snacks, hot food and clothes in tow – Graham says they normally meet up to 30 people in need of help.
No night, he points out, is ever the same – and volunteers have to be prepared for tough situations. In one harrowing incident, volunteers had to call an ambulance for a young man who was suffering from pneumonia. The paramedics who arrived said the youth was just minutes from death.
Scary situations like this are a real danger to the homeless. While YMCA Lincolnshire’s Nomad Centre Emergency Accommodation aims to provide a safe, stable place for people in need, the accommodation has just 22 rooms – meaning a lack of resources to deal with the growing need.
Graham himself is 65-years-old and has led Let Them Eat Cake for nine years, alongside his wife, Marion.
“With the homeless too, we’re no different to them,” he says tonight. “They’ve just had worse luck. This wouldn’t work if we acted like teachers talking to their students. I talk to them how they talk to each other.”
When asked if he had any insight into why there appears to be an increasing number of rough sleepers in the city, he points to factors such as the cost-of-living crisis and lack of affordable housing or people fleeing traumatic situations. Those released from prison rarely have immediate accommodation and this can lead to rough sleeping too.
Coming across the first homeless person of the night, the volunteers snap into action, pouring hot drinks, putting together some food and offering sleeping bags and blankets.
“There’s usually five or six hanging around here,” Graham says, demonstrating the local knowledge that is so important to the charity’s effectiveness.
A rough sleeper appears to agree with this.
She’s a mother who, after suffering with a series of health issues, has found herself without a home. “We really appreciate what these lot do,” she says. “A hot meal and drink can do so much for us. It makes our day.”
The Let Them Eat Cake volunteers also host the Nite Bite cafe every Friday at the Mint Lane Wellbeing Hub where Marion, cooks dinner and desserts. This session, also offers showers and the chance to wash clothes.
So, although they like to “take the mickey”, Let Them Eat Cake continue, it seems, to provide a vital service in our city.
