The event was put together with the organisations our volunteers were placed with - with performances from each. We also had stalls for each charity along with others who were also associated with homelessness.
The purpose of the event was to show what can be achieved if people/charities/communities work together. GX has a big thing about doing something sustainable - not just a moment or two - and so we hope Ubunye was just another step building connections and relationships between like-minded charities. Simple things like being aware of what one another offer; if one service does not meet a person's needs they can direct them to one that does. Supporting one another like this will benefit everyone massively especially with the budget cuts going on.
On stage saying something very inspiring about unity and homelessness
I was particularly proud of the members from Crisis Skylight Newcastle who Coco and I had been working with to plan their contribution to the presentations. With all the ideas coming from them they put together a wonderful display demonstrating the fantastic things Crisis has to offer. They even had the audience singing along with them at one point. All of the members were a joy to work with and their enthusiasm and praise for Crisis is extraordinary.
The afternoon had testimonies, presentations, songs, poetry, and films.
One highlight for me was when Coco got her words slightly muddled and said thanks to all the organisations for "contributing to homelessness" - luckily most people knew what she meant. That's not to fault Coco as she always displays an abundance of confidence with public speaking.
Over 75 people came along including service users/members, paid staff in the sector, volunteers in the sector and others who were interested in homelessness.
Thank you to everyone involved for making it possible...
SVP
NERS
Riverside CHP
Scotswood NCG
Aquila Way
Sunderland YMCA
Action Foundation
The Prince's Trust
Progress to Work
Tomorrow's People
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