A Christmas with no home or food

CHRISTMAS will again highlight the plight of dozens in Guernsey who will be alone, in care, or even sleeping rough. Thousands will settle down with family for tomorrow's festive lunch, but many others will not.

They will be at St Julian's House, searching for a roof over their head or just staying out in the streets.

Michael Hockey expects to be sleeping in Town's Sunken Garden.

'I would not wish it on my worst enemy,' he said.

'Christmas is a lonely day for me; I have got no food, no shops are open and people take the mickey, saying they are going home for Christmas dinner, which really annoys.

'The best present I could have is a room and a roof over my head.

'It upsets me very badly. In December I drink even more because of loneliness ' the States people don't seem to care about the homeless.'

Mr Hockey, an alcoholic, receives '96.90 invalidity benefit weekly and takes medication daily as well as vitamin and hay fever tablets. A cheap shopping bag holds all his personal belongings.

He and a handful of other people who regularly sleep rough receive help from George Torode, author of the Donkey's Ears books, who has been assisting them for more than 10 years.

Each night during the winter he buys bags of chips to feed the homeless and makes sure they have dry blankets.

'It's no big shakes,' he said yesterday.

'I'm a committed Christian and I think there's more to faith than just singing hymns. It's practical Christianity.'

However, Mr Torode, who carries warm blankets from sources like the Red Cross in the boot of his car, said that the problem was not getting any worse. He was aware of just a handful of people in Mr Hockey's position.

'It's just the same people who crop up and you have the stragglers who fall through the net,' he said.

Public Assistance Authority president Pat Robilliard said people had no reason to be homeless over Christmas.

She advised those looking for somewhere to sleep to try St Julian's House. With about 20 residents, it now had about 10 spare beds.

Manager Peter Le Sauvage said that numbers at the hostel had declined over the years. Standards of accommodation had improved, but getting a roof and a hot meal for '15 a night was not some rough-sleepers' top priority.

'Some hard-core alcoholics, for instance, would rather spend their money on drink,' he said.

Mr Le Sauvage, who has been manager at St Julian's for 24 years, will serve a traditional Christmas dinner tomorrow.

But his wish was for people to be able to spend time with their family.

'No matter what's happened in the past, blood is thicker than water,' he said.

'And people can always come back to us after Christmas.'

The Clifton Salvation Army Corps will serve Christmas lunch to about 45 people; most are pensioners who would otherwise be on their own tomorrow.

Guests are invited by recommendation or referral by health visitors or neighbours, or are people whom the army helps throughout the year.

NCH Guernsey Youth Housing Project manager Shane de Carteret said that Christmas could be a difficult time for some young people.

'There's a lot of anecdotal stories of youngsters sleeping rough but, from our experience, there are very few 'cardboard box' homeless in Guernsey,' he said.

'That's not to say that people don't need help, but the problem is not as bad here as it is in English cities.'

There tended to be goodwill at Christmas, he said, but the fallout usually happened afterwards and the project tended to get busy in the new year.

'We know of a lot who are transient, moving from place to place, and that can be dangerous,' said Mr de Carteret.

Last year, the project dealt with 169 cases ' 15 were classed as emergencies.

'Youngsters can be very inventive and we've heard of them sleeping in cars, boats, bus shelters, skips, toilets and even underneath the steps at the police station,' he said. 'But young people are not what I would call career homeless and we still have time for intervention.'

Crisis cases were usually referred to the project by professional bodies and there was a healthy grapevine among the youngsters themselves as to the service it provided.