I am Jyoti Kujur. I belong to the Catholic organization known as Medical Mission Sisters, which is an International congregation of religious women. I started volunteering with St. Mungo’s in the Borough of Ealing in October 2012 and then joined Hope for Southall Street Homeless when it first started in 2016.

 

I am heartbroken that people are segregated from the main stream of society, having no roof over their heads and forced to sleep out on the street which is not safe, and which leads to complex health problems.

 

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A random lunchtime sandwich at an Ealing Advice Forum meeting in 2014 led to the borough’s Rough Sleeper Officer, at the time, inviting me to a meeting with others in 2015 to plan a response to Southall’s chronically high level of rough sleeping.

 

Southall regularly has over one-third of the borough’s rough sleepers. I was offered a month’s work which I am delighted was extended by the Trustees for several months’ more until now.

 

Working with HSSH combines the two social issues I feel most deeply need resolving fairly and justly: that everyone should have her or his own home with access to facilities; and that everyone who is a migrant should have a secure means of living, even if time-limited like the temporary worker visa.

 

I feel very fortunate and content to be part of a charity that focuses on both those social issues. And I’ve learnt never to underestimate where a casual chat over a sandwich might lead!!

The homelessness crisis in Southall is a cause I have been passionate about for many years. Being a Community Support Worker gives me the opportunity to make a difference for rough-sleepers in the Southall area.

 

One of my aims is to help each person develop and maintain a sense of well-being as they struggle to access essential services and see their basic material needs met.

 

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I have worked in the homeless and social care sector for a significant number of years, working both as a front-line worker and also managing hostels, day centres and night shelters throughout London.

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Working in Southall and for Hope for Southall Street Homeless has enriched me personally and also been an extremely humbling experience, especially seeing the

number of people who volunteer and give back so much to the local community.

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