featuring #Change This Christmas
Do you remember the first time you tasted chocolate? Or beer? Or cake?
I remember the first time I tried icing on a cake. I was 24 years old and had recently started working at the YMCA.
I am from Romania originally; instead of cake we have gateau. Before moving to Britain, I did not know what icing was.
Part of my first role at the YMCA (I do something quite different now) was running the Cooking Club on a Wednesday morning. The rest of the week, as key worker, was spent in meetings with the people living at our project, appointments with partner agencies and generally trying to make a difference.
Wednesday mornings were different. I was taken off the rota and would spend the whole morning in the Cooking room on the top floor of the building, overlooking the sea.
I was a food novice: wholly unable to make a decent sandwich. Thus, terrified to run a club focused on gastronomy.
My fear was soon cured: to run the club, I did not need cooking skills. Not in the traditional sense, at least.
The people coming through the door every Wednesday at 10am already knew what they wanted to make, and if they did not, there were plenty of recipe books around. Together, we learnt how to make cauliflower cheese, toad in the hole (that’s right!) and even shepherd’s pie (all dishes I had never heard of).
I listened to many heart-breaking stories and learnt many life lessons, every Wednesday morning at 10am.
There was one man in particular who would come every week. No exceptions; no days missed. Let’s call him Tom.
He always wanted to make the same type of cake – an iced Christmas cake.
Tom always brought all the ingredients with him and had the proportions memorised by heart. He needed no support. Slowly moving about the kitchen, never saying a word. Just working quietly to finish his intricate work.
Once the cake was in the oven, he would make himself and others a cup of tea and sit at the table. Only speak if he was spoken to, never divulging anything from his own personal journey.
There, at the Cooking Club I understood I was hooked to this career. That was when I first appreciated how therapeutic spending time with people could be. For them, yes, but also for me.
These days, the same branch of Brighon YMCA provide a fully accredited and sought after Skills Course for people across the city. The classes are planned and measurable results are achieved.
Alongside running events like these professionally, the charity has kept the option for informal gatherings. The people working there still believe in the power of getting people together to listen to their stories, or to just sip a cup of tea, together. Among these events, one of the most touching is the Christmas meal.
A CHRISTMAS MEAL FOR ALL
Every Christmas, no exception, every single person living at Brighton YMCA receives a surprise Christmas present and a festive meal.
At a time which research shows is the hardest for homeless people, irrespective of whether they have somewhere to go to or not, the people of Brighton YMCA enjoy, for a brief moment of time, a community of wonder.
#CHANGE THIS CHRISTMAS
I have spoken in the past about the difficulties experienced at Christmas and New Year by the people who find themselves alone or in some predicament and the importance of small gestures on these people’s lives.
I believe a Christmas present and a meal are such a gesture.
This year, the charity have launched a campaign, to secure funding for all those presents and meals.
They’ve made it easy for anyone to contribute: all you need to do is buy a gift voucher for a friend, and the amount you have donated automatically goes towards providing a meal or present for one of the 311 people Brighton YMCA are supporting.
Hop on their website for more info.
This is number 4 of my five Christmas stories. Number one is here; this is number 2. And this one, number 3.