News

The London and Slough Run's founder, Phyllis Wallbank launched an appeal for an emergency 'cold shelter' for people sleeping rough this winter as covered by local paper, The Express in the following article:

'AN EMERGENCY ‘cold shelter’ to save the lives of Slough’s rough sleepers has been called for this week by a leading charity worker.

The appeal came from Phyllis Wallbank, a 91-year-old widow, who helps distribute hot food and clothing to an average of 36 homeless people every Monday evening next to the Observatory shopping centre.
 
Mandy Macguire, manager of the SHOC (Slough Homeless Our Concern) drop-in centre off Slough High Street, said they see up to 60 people on one day.  Mrs Wallbank, a founder of the London and Slough-run charity 25 years ago, said ‘rough sleepers’ frequently froze to death on Slough streets.

Mrs Wallbank, who received the MBE for her services to homeless people, said: “It is a terrible and terrifying experience for those who suddenly become homeless, because they find themselves on the streets for the first time.
 
“Slough has no emergency night shelter for such people and many have died on the pavement over the past few years.  “With the cold winter approaching we can expect more tragedies.”

Mrs Wallbank, a retired headmistress, lives in Dorney Common and is the widow of the Rev Newell Wallbank, Dean of the City of London. She teams up with local church charity workers every Monday to take fresh food donations to the rough sleepers.

She said: “I have been doing this for 25 years, and have concentrated on Slough for the last 12 years.
“We do it because we love people and we ask volunteers to keep it up once they have started. It has nothing to do with religion.”

Anne Bateman, housing needs manager, says in a report to the council’s neighbourhoods and renewal scrutiny panel that ‘at the last street count’ fewer than 10 people were sleeping rough at any one time.

Mandy said: “It would be interesting to know when the last street count was done and how they did the counting.
But we deal with many more than that. On one day we can see 50 or 60 people.  They do not all sleep under the stars on pavements. Many homeless people break into derelict houses and sleep there because they cannot claim benefits. There are people in squats and those who sleep on friends’ floors. It is a big problem."'