By Tony O’Riley-
An Essex Charity that supports the homeless has been left feeling cheated after complaining it was completely sidelined by a BBC coverage which devoted full attention to another charity during the coronavirus lockdown.
The coverage allegedly gave the charity an exaggerated level of coverage over their work for the homeless.
BBC Essex gave a glowing report of One Love Soup kitchen in May, praising their known commitment to serve the homeless throughout the lockdown period. The coverage had been arranged by representatives of the charity- one of the most widely attended charities by the homeless in Essex.
However, representatives of St Vincent de Paul say the coverage was exaggerated and are fuming they were left out of the credits. They claim they also provide support for vulnerable people in the local area, but were not referenced at all.
One associate of SVP said: ”The BBC made out that One Love Soup kitchen do all the work for the homeless when there are a couple of other charities also helping the homeless during the lockdown.
They said they were doing fancy dressing everyday, but they weren’t doing it at all. I would have thought they would at least as to see some pictures of the fancy dressing”.
Strong Presence
SVP’s president Daniel,an Australian national, (pictured) told The Eye Of Media.Com:
”We do a lot to support the homeless, and we didn’t even get a mention. They(One Love) were made to look like the only operating charity in the area, which makes it easy for them to get more funding.
”We have a strong presence in the area which has been involved in supporting homeless people through a Winter Night Shelter and supporting many vulnerable people within our community who need a hand with bills, food parcels and necessities.-
”We also have a Bake off Team providing cakes and biscuits for 12 Wards at the Southend Hospital, 13 care homes and 10 doctors surgeries.
Tackling Poverty
St Vincent de Paul Society has dedicated itself to tackling poverty, disadvantage and social isolation by providing direct practical assistance to anyone in need; our work and call-to serve is no different today though times have changed rapidly.
The organisation also provides support with filling out doctor’s forms for people that have dyslexia, supporting rough sleepers with universal credit support, helping people access Housing Solutions.
”We have observed situations where we have to make social care referrals, assist someone to be put into women’s refuge, communicate with other councils who have housed people in Southend that people have been placed with people that are manipulating them.
We have now gone through up to £9000 in trying to bridge the gap in helping people off the Street and getting them to follow Housing Solutions procedures. We have had situations where councils have disputed duty of care and we have had to support or fund people until their situation is resolved”.
The organisation says it also works closely with support groups like Social Services, schools, and the police. They regularly seek out the homeless and house them as well as provide food for them.
They are yet to involve counsellors and mental health workers as part of their group to cater for some of their clients who suffer with substance abuse.
One Love Soup Kitchen
However, the attention received by One Love Soup kitchen is understandable. They are one of the most popular charities on the Southend circuit, and tend to pull more crowds in one place for the homeless than any other homeless charity.
Other soup kitchens may have deserved a mention, but the focus of the BBC ‘s interest was One Love Soup kitchen, not the other charities. One volunteer for the One Love Soup kitchen told The Eye Of Media.Com that other charities will be changing their operations soon, leaving One Love as the only place people will be able to get clean clothing and other living essentials.
One Love Soup Kitchen attended by multitudes in Southend Essex
The One Love Soup kitchen with 7,235 members and over 2,000 followers on twitter is a proactive charity that provides clothes and shower for the homeless twice a week.
The SVP which have branches all over the Uk say they also hunt down the homeless in certain areas and provide them with food anywhere they find them.
”One Love do a great job, but our charity has also bent over backwards to help the homeless without much funding”.
The BBC has been informed about the complaint which they have asked us to log with them for a full response at a later date.