St. Peter’s Church Nursery School has used the hall for 32 years but may lose the premises in a £2million project.
A Norbiton nursery school may be replaced by Kingston’s first homeless shelter.
St. Peter’s Church Nursery School on London Road, Norbiton has used the hall for 32 years. It may lose the premises in the £2million project.
There are other nurseries in the area but nothing providing homeless people with shelter and a skills centre.
In 2008 the Kingston Kaleidoscope methadone clinic vastly reduced its support services.
“The church garden area became an oasis for the needy as a consequence,” said Reverend Peter Holmes.
This opened his eyes to the problems of Kingston homelessness lying just below the surface in a perceived wealthy London borough.
The Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness and St. Peter’s Church community will unite for this project.
With the KCAH, Rev. Holmes believes he can help homeless and ‘hidden homeless’ people – who rely on sofa surfing.
Since 2008 he knows of 16 people who have “lost their lives prematurely, partly due to sofa surfing”.
Sofa surfing puts enormous strain on the fragile relationships between ‘hidden’ homeless person and homeowner.
Without the support these relationships provide, homeless people’s prospects deteriorate.
The KCAH has practical knowledge of helping homeless people deal with the difficult bureaucratic system.
This is especially necessary because homeless people from outside Kingston have no support in the borough – nobody is legally obligated to help them.
The church is “fantastic for friendship and support, because of its grounding in free giving,” said Rev. Holmes.
“You can’t buy the value of that friendship.”
The St. Peter’s Church community will run the night-shelter and create a centre for learning opportunities.
Currently, they run ‘The Great Feast’ on Wednesday lunch-times providing a time to eat, reflect and chat with community members.
An application will be submitted to the Kingston Council planning committee on Wednesday, November 16.
