Special feature: Soup kitchen feeding Rotherham's homeless

HOMELESSNESS is a year-round issue in Rotherham, but the problem bites hard in mid-winter. Reporter David Parker spoke to the leader of a volunteer team helping rough sleepers and finds how helping out has proved a rewarding experience.

AS temperatures barely stay above freezing, a hardy troupe of volunteers is trying to keep those unfortunate enough to find themselves sleeping on the streets warm and fed.

Jay Haywood leads the 15-strong team who provide hot meals, warm clothes and bedding to homeless people in Rotherham town centre.

They have set up a weekly soup kitchen —, which runs every Monday evening and feeds the homeless, those who have fled domestic abuse and many who are simply struggling to make ends meet — and also help homeless people to get off the streets and into housing.

Jay (38), of Rawmarsh, and fellow volunteer David Hedley, of Leeds, started out 14 months ago by taking trolleys filled with thermals, socks, sleeping bags and food around Doncaster.

After noticing Rotherham’s homelessness situation worsening, Jay decided to concentrate her work on her hometown.

David helped her set up the weekly street kitchen in All Saints’ Square, which runs every Monday at 6pm.

Jay said there were around ten rough sleepers in Rotherham — although this is dwarfed by the numbers living in temporary accomodation — but it wasn’t just homeless people who were coming along.

“We’ve even had elderly people there who are struggling to have a hot meal,” she said.

“It’s very sad — Universal Credit is making so many people struggle.”

Jay said that until a fire station was opened as a shelter last week there had been no overnight shelter in place for the homeless in Rotherham.

She said Rotherham Borough Council could only offer accommodation in Sheffield but some of those living on the streets of Rotherham would not want to go there.

“The guys wouldn’t go to Sheffield due to past experience where one of them had a knife held to his throat,” she said.

“They felt safer in their tents on the streets of Rotherham than they do in the hostels in Sheffield.

“There are all these empty buildings in Rotherham and they can’t open one — it’s absolutely disgusting.”

Jay said the street kitchen’s food fare included stews, dumplings, corned beef hash, spaghetti bolognese, garlic bread and snack packs with sandwiches, crisps and chocolate bars, as well as food parcels and pet food for those who needed it.

“We also give out coats, footwear, hats, gloves, hand warmers, sleeping bags and tents,” she said.