News
Hampshire homelessness charity celebrates 15 years of service
A charity that supports and rebuilds the lives of homeless people held a service at Winchester Cathedral reflecting on their successes over the years.
On Friday, October 18, the charity’s service was attended by 250 guests who packed the Cathedral Quire to witness the event.
The service was led by The Reverend Canon Roland Riem, Vice-Dean and Canon Chancellor.
The guests also included MP Danny Chambers, Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith the mayor of Winchester and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Surgeon Rear Admiral Lionel Jarvis.
Readings, reminiscences and videos highlighted the work Emmaus Hampshire had done including projects devised by the former homeless residents known as Companions and providing more secure jobs and independent living.
Alison Thompson MBE, the founder of Emmaus Hampshire spoke at the service.
“It is a joy to be here,” she said.
“To thank so many of you here, for helping us to reach this milestone in our development.
“Some of you here know a great deal about Emmaus, [and] some of you know very little.”
The charity also states on its website it is: “The unique solution to homelessness, and delivers significant environmental, sustainable and social impact.
“We don’t just give people a bed for a night, our community provides a stable home, individual support and life-changing opportunities to enable people to break the cycle of homelessness.
“Sometimes, luck doesn’t go your way, or life throws you a run of difficult challenges.
“You may suffer a bereavement, a relationship breakup, lose your job or be evicted from your home.”
Nigel Samuels, chief executive of Emmaus Hampshire said: “We are a homeless charity that helps people get back into work, we provide accommodation for up to 40 companions at one time, and they work in our social enterprise which is responsible for selling recycled furniture in three stores across the county and the income they generate helps us run their community.
“We have five companions here today who have all moved on to independent living.
“They all have full-time jobs with salaries over £30,000, all have accommodation, and we think that’s the real success.”
Mr Samuels also highlighted the charity’s work towards licensing out a carbon calculator it had developed.
“We save household items from the waste chain and in doing so, prevent more than 350,000 tonnes of carbon being released into the atmosphere each year,” he said.
Mr Samuels also added when being asked about the future of Emmaus: “We hope to grow our retail stores to generate more income, that will allow us to support more people.
“We also will be building a well-being centre in our garden, that will allow us to help support more people with dedicated counselling and support.”
A short pop-up catwalk by personal stylist Sarah Sullivan also saw some of the companions showcasing recycled clothing in collaboration with Emmaus.
For more information on the charity, visit the Emmaus Hampshire website.
Communities are encouraged to buy a poppy as this year’s Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal is launched in the lead-up to Remembrance Day.
The annual fundraising campaign supports members of the Armed Forces community, including veterans, personnel and their families.
The Poppy Appeal remains the Legion’s biggest annual fundraiser.
Last year, more than 32 million poppies were distributed across the UK, and about £51.4 million was raised in donations.
Chris Hayward is managing the Poppy Appeal in North Hampshire & Winchester and said: “Wearing a poppy during Remembrance time shows that you care.”
“It’s a national symbol, and it shows the armed forces community that you appreciate everything that they do.”
She added: “For those who want to get involved, you can wear your poppy, donate to the Royal British Legion, Poppy Appeal, and also participate in the collections and volunteer as a collector.”
Winchester will be recognising remembrance itself, with a service at the Cathedral on Sunday, 9th November, in addition to a service at Winchester Guildhall at 11 am on Armistice Day.
The service will begin at 9:20 am and will include a procession from The Broadway to Winchester Cathedral, as well as wreath laying too.
Donations from the campaign go towards services including mental health support, housing assistance and employment advice for veterans transitioning to civilian life.
For more information on how to donate, volunteer or order poppies online, visit: britishlegion.org.uk/poppyappeal.
Until 2093, asteroid 2025 PN7 will be sharing the Earth’s orbit.
You may have seen circuiting on social media a myth that the Earth has two moons from now until 2083 – sadly, that’s science fiction.
In August of this year astronomers discovered asteroid 2025 PN7.
It is considered a quasi-moon as it orbits the sun in a similar path to Earth.
According to Mike Shanahan, planetarium director at New Jersey’s Liberty Science Centre, the asteroid has been travelling “alongside Earth for 60 years”.
Due to the size of the asteroid, it wasn’t discovered until this summer.
Astronomy fans hoping to see a second moon in the sky are out of luck.
The asteroid is too small and far away to be seen by the naked eye or regular telescopes.
The number of asteroids in Earth-like orbit has been known to exceed 100.
Some orbit alongside the Earth for merely months, whereas others years or decades.
Currently, six other quasi-moons have been recorded near Earth.
Cardiff is the first UK city to introduce a “tax” for SUVs weighing over 2.4 tonnes.
The tax is to be enforced in residential permit areas, and also includes cars that are powered by diesel.
Cardiff Council is hoping that implementing this will improve congestion, the air quality, and create space on pavements.
The exact cost has yet to be announced, but the council has announced it will be releasing the tax in phases.
Winchester is a relatively small city with many residential permit areas – the question of a similar initiative being introduced locally has arisen.
Winchester City Council and Hampshire County Council chose not to respond to Winchester News Online, with Winchester City Council stating that it is not a subject a councillor is likely to comment on, as it is an issue relevant to Cardiff and not yet an issue to Winchester.
Though the council does not yet deem this a possibility, it has gotten the public talking.
Jet Gates, a disability campaigner, said:
“It’s going to have a massive impact on disabled people across the UK
“We are a highly marginalized group in society – it’s just yet another nail in the coffin.”
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