Gareth Jones meets third sector workers who face a busy festive season
For many, December means a mad rush to get gifts sorted before a stressful day getting the turkey and trimmings ready – followed by a week of well-earned relaxation.
However for many third sector workers, the daily grind doesn’t stop over Christmas, and for some things are even busier than usual.
Staff at Crisis spend the year planning for their Crisis at Christmas event. Running for five days over the festive period at the Southside Community Centre in Edinburgh, more than 400 volunteers help to welcome around 700 people through the doors that would otherwise have nowhere else to go at Christmas.
Those who face homelessness or spending Christmas in temporary accommodation are treated like guests – and alongside hearty Christmas meals are given access to other such services as massages, carols and haircuts.
Jenny Whyte, volunteer coordinator for Crisis, said the charity aims to give some solace to those who face difficult situations.
“I had a conversation with a guest in the café last year who said how special it was, they’d had a massage and a haircut and said the service had provided so much more than a meal,” she said.
“We really try and create a family atmosphere, and work goes on throughout the year to make the event as special as possible.”
Jamie Leitch decided to get involved with Crisis as a volunteer earlier this year, and since then has been involved in the planning and development of Crisis at Christmas.
“I had no idea of all the work that goes into it,” he said. “When I heard about the scale of the event I still had no idea in terms of all the people that are involved, and all the planning that goes on.
“For example, we provide luggage tags for all the bags that people bring with them. It may seem like a really simple task, but it’s one that is really important to get right as the bags often contain the only possessions that the people coming along have.”
Christmas is an important time for homeless charities, with important work going on to help those on the streets stay warm and safe, and a rise in publicity around the plight of those who face an uncertain future with the public more likely to donate or give up their time to good causes.
“We are really taken aback by the response from volunteers,” Jenny added. “Last year we had around 900 applications for volunteers. I think there’s not a lot of options for people that just want to volunteer at Christmas, unless they are already engaged with a charity.
“I think people think more about homelessness at Christmas as they are mindful of how bad the weather could be if you’re out on the streets, and also about the loneliness of spending Christmas on the streets or in temporary accommodation.
“One in five of the people we deal with wouldn’t see anyone on Christmas Day unless they come along to the centre.”
Although homeless charities are what many people think of when they consider charity at Christmas, the work goes on for a variety of other third sector organisations.
Tracey Mackay, a staff nurse at St Columba’s Hospice in Edinburgh, will be working a 13 hour shift on Christmas Day, but said the nature of her work means that she appreciates the festive season more.
She said: “When you work here at Christmas you feel quite privileged. You know that you are most probably going to be around next Christmas. For a lot of the patients here it will be their last Christmas, and the families are aware of that. But there is a lot of happiness here, not just sadness.”
“It can be a bit more emotional than normal. There is a Christmas tree up, the patients all get their presents, the chaplain will be about. We try and help as many people to spend Christmas at home as we can, but for those that can’t go home we aim to make it as special as possible.”
The hospice offers a traditional Christmas dinner for those who can manage it, and staff are keen to provide support to family members to help their loved ones feel special. A drive is also made to help those who can spend time at their homes to visit their loved ones, with on call staff there to help with treatment and the logistics.
After finishing up on Christmas night, Tracey will manage to see her family. She said: “I will be going up to my daughter’s to see my children, grandkids and my husband. I won’t get there till about nine so the youngest of my grandchildren will be in bed, but I will have a video chat with him earlier in the day.”
Another organisation that will be providing support to those who are sick this Christmas is Hearts and Minds. The charity’s Clowndoctors provide laughter for children who face spending Christmas in hospital.
The charity’s artistic director Suzie Ferguson is one of the Clowndoctors who will be visiting hospital wards to help create festive cheer.
“A lot of the children who we visit are in isolation and will not be well enough to take part in other activities,” she said.
“We manage to perform behind glass or to visit intensive care wards, which helps to create something special for these children and make them feel involved in the Christmas spirit.
“The most important thing for us is that we keep delivering what we always deliver. We still visit the wards at least two days a week. We try to improvise wherever we can, and this means we embrace the Christmas spirit.”
Although Christmas can be a difficult time for those who have a sick loved one, Suzie said that staff and volunteers put so much work into bringing festive magic to the wards.
“The atmosphere in the hospitals at Christmas is amazing,” she said. “The play staff and the charities that are there put in so much effort into making it special for the children. The wards are decorated and Santa comes round on Christmas Eve.”
Food Train is an example of an organisation that needs to continue to provide its vital services in the community during the Christmas period. The charity offers support to older people including grocery shopping home deliveries, household support and befriending.
Emma Black, fundraising and marketing manager at Food Train, said the charity has a dedicated group of supporters who will be giving up their time during the season to help older people with their shopping, continue befriending services and cook meals for the elderly.
“Our branches all deliver throughout Christmas,” she told TFN.
“They have a condensed service, and try to encourage the older people to stock up on items so they only need to go out and buy fresh items.
“Our services are all about social contact, and I think it is vital that they continue over Christmas. A lot of the older people who benefit from our Meal Makers scheme, where volunteers cook and deliver a meal for them, are invited to join our volunteers for Christmas dinner or are cooked special Christmas meals.”
Black added that the work the charity carries out seems even more special during the festive period. “It is amazing to see how many volunteers give up a few hours during what is a busy time of the year,” she said. “The older people need us, and would face spending Christmas alone without that contact.”
The Cyrenians community at Crighton Place in Edinburgh, which offers residential support for young men, is preparing for its first Christmas, having opened earlier this year.
Davie Johnstone, assistant key worker for Cyrenians at Crighton Place, said that staff and residents are looking forward to the festive season.
“I’m feeling good about working my first Christmas,” he said. “We managed to get the rota sorted fairly early, and sorted who would be working which days which was good as that meant we could all make plans with our families around working.
“I was a bit nervous, as Christmas is a time that society tell you has to be perfect. I worried that this may place strain on the guys that I work with. But they seem to be really looking forward to it. We have started up all our plans around Christmas, most of the guys will be going to visit their families on Christmas Day.
“However one of them has decided that Crighton Place is home and has asked to have Christmas there. We have planned that myself and him will cook a Christmas dinner and one of the other workers will come round and join us for it.
“The three of us will have a really simple but classic Christmas Day. It feels like a privilege that he wants to spend Christmas with us, and also that he feels like the community is his home.”
Davie will rush to Glasgow when he finishes up on Christmas Day, before making the journey back to Edinburgh for a shift on Boxing Day – however he comes from a family where working at Christmas is a yearly occurrence.
“It might be a slightly quieter Christmas than normal,” he said. “My family has been great in planning the day around my work though. My brother is a chef, so he is often working on Christmas Day, and my dad is a minister, so he has always worked Christmas morning so I suppose we are used to having a slightly different Christmas Day.”
