|PIC1|The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, has officially opened a new combined day and night shelter for the homeless in London.

The new centre, Branches, which was opened last week, is the result of partnership between Waltham Forest Churches and Forest YMCA.

Dr Williams joined with staff, volunteers and users of the night shelter for breakfast before being taken on a tour of the facilities and services on offer to the homeless people of East London at the Branches shelter.

Cllr Milton Martin, Mayor of Waltham Forest, Clare Shinner, Chief Executive of Forest YMCA, and Cllr Clyde Loakes, Leader of Waltham Forest Council, joined the Archbishop at the official opening ceremony.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said he was delighted to be invited to witness “this expression of God’s love and human community” that he felt characterised the Branches.

“It’s a great project, a great achievement, and I’m really impressed at the way volunteers have gathered around,” he said.

Dr Williams said the shelter was a reflection of how the Church and community is “taking people seriously” because “God takes each one of us very seriously”.

“At Christmas we all ought to be thinking about homes and homelessness and needs, and the poverty inside all of us that God meets,” he said.

“It's a good time to be thinking about taking people seriously - because
Christmas is when we say thank you to God for taking us seriously.”

|PIC2|In his address, Cllr Martin, a long-term supporter of the project, said people who are homeless deserve “somewhere where they can have shelter, an ear for them to be listened to, compassion to be shown to them, and a little bit of love and warmth”.

Ms. Shinner praised the range of services available to vulnerable people in Walthamstow, saying that homeless people now have “24/7 support including the Christian Kitchen, the day centre, the night shelter – together these provide a real service for our community”.

Cllr Loakes added: “'Not only can people get a bed for the night, a roof over their head, they can also get some health, job and employment advice, and help dealing with some of the tougher issues that so many of us don't always wish to talk
about in public.”

Branches is the culmination of 11 years of Christian work in the area with homeless people which started out life as a humble soup run, before developing into the Christian Kitchen supported by local churches and eventually a permanent day centre for homeless people with the help of the YMCA.

The Branches is the first permanent homeless day and night shelter with onsite support services including help to find permanent accommodation, training in life skills, health education and a programme of social activities.