Our aim in this charity is to make sure that the human rights of those who come to us are assured. We don’t replace the social services or the legal aid system with the funds that we receive – but we do help provide access to them, and sometimes help with application fees and similar exceptional items. We work closely with like-minded organisations like the Red Cross, Homestart, New Hope Trust, and we acknowledge with gratitude their help and support.
We have grown steadily over the years, from 26 cases in 2011 to 55 in 2014. We always need volunteers, not only to befriend, but also to help us with publicity, with our food store and with our social events – we offer training to volunteers. Because a lot of our clients are mothers and children, we aim to get them together with good food and entertainment several times a year – this has included garden parties and a visit to the pantomime at the Watford Palace Theatre – English culture at its best!
Finally, we run a drop-in centre at St John’s Church, Sutton Road in the middle of Watford, right by the Intu (Harlequin) Centre and close to Watford Junction rail and bus station. We rely on our volunteer team to cover sessions twice a week for 2 hours on a Tuesday and Friday. We are always looking for more volunteers to help out.