HELPING OUT AT CHRISTMAS
 Helping
Out At Christmas
As the winter weather grows colder, many organisations continue their important
work of helping people affected by homelessness and other pressing problems.
Perhaps because the colder weather makes us more conscious of the needs of people
without accommodation or perhaps because of the long tradition in England of
Christmas being a time that we think of others, many of these organisations
are helped out by volunteers giving of their time to help those in need.
Across London, a range of charities and voluntary organisations are usually
in the full throes of providing services that help people without suitable accommodation,
whether it be through helping out in cold-weather shelters serving street homeless
people, keeping an watchful eye on the elderly and infirm or through befriending
vulnerable young people in homeless shelters.
And of course, with all its emotional charge, the festive season can be anything
but for those who may be without families and friends around them or where problems
with those relationships are one of the key reasons they find themselves alone.
As is shown by scientific research, crises and desperate behaviours often go
hand in hand with the time of year that should theoretically be a happy one.
Age Old Festivity
For millennia, the middle of winter has been a time of festivity in the northern
hemisphere. Many ancient cultures such as the Celtic, Nordic and Roman all celebrated
midwinter festivals that coincide roughly with Christmas.
This interesting little site maintained by Aine Minogue gives details of many
Celtic
winter traditions and, their later assimilation into Christian culture.
Here is another site maintained by an enthusiast, in this case from a linguistic
perspective, that gives a lot of information
on the origins of Christmas and the changing traditions over the centuries.
This site provides fascinating information on the ancient
Yule festival of Nordic cultures. And this is the Wikipedia entry for Saturnalia,
the ancient Roman mid-winter festival.
Of course, with the advent of Christian culture in Europe, one of the most
significant dates in the calendar, Christmas, came to coincide with the same
dates of many of these ancient festivals and, as populations converted to Christianity,
their ancient traditions evolved to take on new meanings.
One of the strong associations with this cultural tradition is that it is a
time that people should consider others; to help their fellow human beings.
Perhaps an early example of this is the way in which in the 18th and 19th centuries
with their increasing philanthropic doctrine, the traditions of Boxing
Day emerged, not specifically a religious holiday but almost a humanistic
holiday. In many ways, Boxing Day, in England, came to combine this growing
social awareness with the ancient traditions of fun and frivolity associated
with the Christmas Period.
If there can be any doubt that English culture has a long tradition of seeing
this time of year as associated with fun and tomfoolery alongside the more serious
considerations, one need only think of that most English of institutions, William
Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s play “Twelfth
Night” was itself written to be performed as part of the Christmas
period, twelfth
night itself being a significant date in the traditional Christmas calendar.
Pitching In
Easy then to understand that age-old charge of Christmas traditions and cultural
meanings may play their own roles in why some of us end up particularly miserable
and others readily take up the challenge to help. But, regardless of the reasons,
both the problems and the need for helpers remains an annual reality.
Many efforts to help those in need at Christmas are organised at a local level
and if you would like to help out in your local area of west London, your local
volunteer bureau or agency can be a good place to start. So, why not try one
of these and let them advise you on how your time and skills might be able to
help others over the festive season…
Ealing
Harrow
Hammersmith
& Fulham
Hillingdon
If these options don’t manage to help you find something that suits you,
here are a few other places to try.
The homelessness organisation Crisis runs a pan-London initiative each year
providing shelters and services to the most excluded homeless people in London.
This
link takes you to the section of their website that gives you details of
how get involved.
This excellent site, Timebank
is a useful online resource that helps you to track down the right opportunity
for you as a volunteer. This
section gives some helpful tips and advice when thinking about giving of
your time at Christmas.
If thinking about helping people over Christmas has got you wondering whether
a career in the caring professions or more informed understanding of your role
as a volunteers would be interesting, here are some local courses that might
be of interest.
In
Brent
In
Ealing
In
Harrow
In Hillingdon (counselling
was the search term…)
Other Useful Contacts
Shelter, the national charity addressing homelessness and housing problems has
a helpline for anyone experiencing problems with housing. The numbers and details
of the service are located on this
page of their website.
Here are a few other useful contacts, primarily of organisations that run phone
help line services and/or drop-in services that may prove helpful if Christmas
becomes a difficult time.
The Samaritans –
probably the best known help line service provider; also provides a drop-in
service in central London.
Sane runs, Saneline, the
help line for people with mental health problems and those around them.
And the site of the Telephone
Helpline Association enables you to search for a help line on any topic
serving your area.
|
