Annual Report: 1998
West London Initiative on Single Homelessness

To reach this point it had been necessary to raise £20,000, acquire the use of a suitable building and recruit nearly four hundred volunteers.

WISH finally arrived "on site" in the first week of December. This was a disused police station, which we initially shared with a number of pigeons. The first priority was to survey the building and plan the installation of heating, showers, toilets, phones, kitchen and any other amenities which were currently lacking.

The next tasks which faced us were to thoroughly clean the building, install all the services, lay the carpets, hang the decorations and dress the trees, turning it into a more welcoming place to be. This was to take many hours every day and was finally completed with only hours to spare.

The ROOF opened to our guests at 12:00 on the 23rd of December and for the next seven days this was to be their home.

Typically during each day, the lights would go on at 07:30 and the building would start to come to life as the first cups of tea of the day were served. By 08:30 a full cooked breakfast was being served and the showers were becoming increasingly busy. By mid morning the ROOF had settled into its normal routine with guests and volunteers enjoying reading newspapers; playing cards and other games; watching TV; and generally chatting. Small and enthusiastic groups worked with community artists and added to the decorations with some inventive art and craft pieces.

For those who wished, the on-demand services encompassing clothing store, haircutting, chiropody, doctor and dentist surgeries and an ever-popular service, housing and benefits advice were available every day.

Towards the end of the day, live performances by carol singers; a jazz band; an R&B band; a brass band; a gospel choir and a solo artist enhanced the festive atmosphere.

At around ten in the evening, beds would be prepared by the volunteers and guests would settle down for the night, by 11:00 the main lights would be turned out and the hall would quieten. For the night owls a "wide awake area" provided hot drinks, television and company until morning.

Guests stayed an average of 3 days. The average number of days that guests intended to stay was also 3.  51% said they intended to stay more than 5 days or more. However 72% actually spent more than 5 days at the ROOF.

The majority of guests were sleeping at the ROOF. 91 (92%) of the guests were male and 7 (7%) female. The age range was 16 to 78 years. The average age was 51.2 years and median age was 49 years.

Guests were asked where they had slept prior to coming to the ROOF. 48% said that they had been sleeping rough. A further 7 % had been in hostel type accommodation and 17% gave no reply. Therefore up to 72% may have been rough sleepers.