Wednesday Club is a food and hot drinks service aimed at providing a warm meal and a relaxed space for those in London who are currently vulnerably housed or unhoused, or have experienced homelessness in the past. The club has been opening its doors in the Hall of Hinde Street Methodist Church from the late afternoon into the early evening for the past 40 or so years, with some of these years seeing an expanded service also taking place on Thursdays. However, outside of Hinde Street, the club has even deeper roots, having existed in different forms and operating out of a multitude of spaces for over 50 years. This long-lasting presence in the Marylebone community urged us to ask a couple of the regular volunteers and one guest to share their experiences in order to find out what makes Wednesday Club such a unique and enduring initiative.
Stephen has volunteered with Wednesday Club since 2007. He was looking to be of help at Hinde Street in a way that was a bit different to the usual committee and stewardship roles on offer. A regular presence on Wednesdays, Stephen describes a typical afternoon. Work tends to start at around 2pm with chairs and tables being set out and sandwiches and soup being prepared. From 4pm when guests start arriving until 7pm, the late afternoon and early evening are spent serving food, boiling the kettle, and chatting with both new and familiar faces. As Stephen puts it, service can often be very busy, but one usually finds the time to engage with others and share some news or thoughts together.
This simple act of sharing time together emerges as a common theme among those who are involved with Wednesday Club. Alan, who volunteered for more than 15 years, remarks: ‘We’ve thought in the past about organising games or something similar, but people really come quite simply for a chat and a cup of tea in a relaxed atmosphere, so that’s all that’s needed.’ R, one of the longest-standing guests of Wednesday Club, also agrees. Having attended for more than 20 years, R shares what keeps him coming back: ‘I come here for a cup of tea and friendship. I’m a long-standing member of the church and have known some of the volunteers for more than 10 years. You do meet a lot of new people, too, which is also nice.’
However, Alan also explains that the people who come to Wednesday Club have a variety of needs – some lack housing and stay on the streets, while some of them have accommodation, but it’s not particularly comfortable. This means that while people like to come and chat, in the winter it is also important for them to be able to get out of the cold, and especially so in the afternoons when it is difficult to find spaces in Central London that are open. Here, R agrees with Alan: what makes the club so special for him is the fact that anyone can come in. According to R, some people are currently homeless, and others are in flats now but have been homeless in the past: ‘It’s an open space, and that’s the strong point of the club, I think, as other places can be quite strict about who they take in.’
It seems that it is the unique opening hours and broad inclusivity, then, that make the additional afternoon of service that Thursday Club provides much appreciated – however, it also requires some extra hands to make happen. As recruitment for volunteers is always active, new faces have appeared in recent years – some of whom have become a regular presence. For instance, Vicenta has been volunteering since just before the pandemic. She was also introduced to Wednesday Club by a member of Hinde Street Methodist Church and has been helping out regularly for a few years now. Like Stephen, she mainly works on Wednesdays, preparing and serving food in kitchen. She is very passionate about volunteering and Wednesday Club is just one of the initiatives she is involved in.
Because of her busy schedule, Vicenta sympathises with the difficulties some people have when it comes to finding time for volunteering – however, she also mentions that many people come to help at Wednesday Club on a more relaxed schedule. In fact, you can commit to coming as little as once a month or every few months.
Similarly, Alan also explains that due to the variety of circumstances that people are in, some guests also come back regularly, and others you don’t see for a while. ‘Some people I don’t see for maybe a year, and then they come along again one day, and it’s really nice to see them back and see how they are doing.’ One such person is R, who is known to leave London for the warmer half of the year to explore other countries by foot, often walking a few thousand kilometres each summer. So far, he has managed to visit most of Western Europe. In the autumn, R returns to London – and to Hinde Street.
Find out more about Stephen, Alan and Vicenta have to say about Wednesday Club in the Q&A below.
What do you enjoy the most about volunteering at Wednesday & Thursday Club?
Stephen: Meeting people from different backgrounds, when it comes to both guests and volunteers. It’s one of the nice things about church life in general, and volunteering as well, it’s the people you meet – and you don’t necessarily get to do that on a regular working day as you work with the same people every week, often from the same background, which often isn’t the case here.
Vicenta: I love talking to people and getting to know them.
Alan: I think it’s very satisfying work. There’s a nice crowd of people that do the volunteering. It’s nice to have a chat with different people in the kitchen, and also to have a chat with the guests in the hall – you really get to know them.
Are there any challenges involved?
Stephen: Accurately balancing the amount of food that is prepared and served each day – attendance can fluctuate on a weekly basis, as can the amount of food donated by local restaurants.
Alan: We very rarely get any disruption or trouble. We don’t allow any alcohol on the premises or anything like that, so it’s usually very calm. I’d say, then, that often the biggest challenge is getting volunteers to come help out.
What kind of impact do you think the club has on its attendees and on you?
Stephen: I don’t think I’ve ever actually asked anyone that directly, but I suppose the fact that a lot of people keep coming back – some people for 10 or 15 years – means they must find it valuable. I suppose they just use it as an opportunity to ‘chill out’ and connect in the middle of the week. Myself, I’ve really enjoyed it and find it’s one of the best things I do. It’s just very different from what I do for work, and it gives me a lot of satisfaction.
What is one thing you’d say you’ve learned volunteering at Wednesday & Thursday Club?
Stephen: One thing is definitely the realisation that there is such a wide mix of the vulnerably housed in London. It has made me realise it could happen to anybody at any point in their lives, it could happen to me if things one day turn out differently.
Vicenta: I volunteer a lot in other organisations as well and I have learned to do a lot of different things to help – here, I help in the kitchen a lot.
Alan: It does benefit you as a person when you give your time, on a regular basis, to do something for other people. It’s a good thing to do.
Can anyone come and volunteer?:
Stephen: Yes! You’ll have to go through some basic checks, but we are very open to everyone getting involved.
Alan: Yes, anyone can volunteer. You don’t have to be a member of the church, in fact, many current volunteers do not attend Hinde Street. The age range currently is from 20 to 90.
Can I help in other ways?
Stephen: We take donations, too – we especially welcome any spare sleeping bags or spare clothes. You can also donate to the West London Mission and, of course, help spread the word about what we do!
Alan: Charity and donations help too. I’ll also put a thanks out to Pret who donate a lot of food to Wednesday and Thursday Club.
We would like to thank Stephen, Alan, Vicenta, and R for speaking with us, and all our invaluable volunteers for donating their time and effort at Wednesday & Thursday Club.
You can find out how you can get involved in the fight against homelessness more broadly by checking out the Housing Justice website.
You can read more about World Homeless Day here.
To hear more on theme of homelessness, you can also check out Deacon Tessa Bennet’s brilliant homily (short sermon), delivered on Homelessness Sunday (October 8th) here.