Soup-runs for rough-sleepers outside Westminster Cathedral: What would Jesus do?

The problem of rough-sleepers around Westminster Cathedral has been in the news recently, due to the fact that Westminster City Council is proposing a bye-law which would ban soup-runs around the Cathedral's piazza. Needless to say, many people have commented on this issue, and there have also been protests in the press and on the streets, with most voices opposing the Council's seemingly harsh measures against a vulnerable group. Sometimes, though, it is easy to forget that homelessness leads to social problems that impact on the wider community, which the Council has a duty to address. It is also easy to forget that soup-runs do not really help the homeless in the long-term - as most professionally run homeless charities and organisations point out.

Westminster Cathedral has links to two homeless charities, which are amongst the best providers of care and front-line assistance for street-sleepers in London. The first is The Passage, which is based round the corner from the Cathedral, and which feeds, clothes and supports hundreds of homeless men and women every day. The other is The Cardinal Hume Centre, based next to the Cathedral's chapel-of-ease on Horseferry Road. It, too, provides a specialist service for those who find themselves on society's bottom-rung. Westminster Cathedral, and its parishioners and supporters, should be proud of these two organisations - especially The Passage, which is run by the Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul, but is also a major part of the Cathedral's mission to the homeless.

The fact of the matter is that there is sufficient provision for the homeless around Westminster Cathedral's immediate vicinity. Not only does The Passage provide help and advice for rough-sleepers, but the services it offers are extremely professional, as well as being grounded in the Gospel's call to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Of course, the Gospel also promotes the dignity of every person, as well as the need for us all to assume responsibility, as best we can, for our individual lives.

Many groups come into Westminster every week to run the nightly soup-runs outside the Cathedral. There is some kind of rota, from what I gather, in which members of mainly evangelical churches take it in turns to drive into central London from the well-heeled suburbs to hand out food, clothes and hot drinks. As far as I know, these well-meaning people do not offer practical advice and have no real understanding of the housing, medical or support services on offer in Westminster. One assumes that these people return home after off-loading their sandwiches, take comfort in either reading a passage from the Guardian or the NIV Bible, and then go to sleep, content in the knowledge that they have saved some poor unfortunates. Those who have been fed and entertained by the middle-class visitors head off, with a full belly but not really motivated to change or get better. This is called "creating a dependency" - it is totally at odds with the Gospel message, in which every man and woman is called to be responsible for his or her own life, and in which those who help do so in order that others might then reach a place where they, in turn, can move on and become helpers themselves.

"Do you want to get better?"

Many years ago I suffered from a very debilitating addiction to alcohol - still having health problems to this day. But, thank God, I at least managed to move on from dependency to a substance and a way of life which was killing me and causing much havoc and bother to those around me. After struggling for many years with my addiction, which even led to homelessness and severe physical illness - I was given three months to live - I eventually found the help I needed after going on pilgrimage to Walsingham. Nothing supernatural happened - I simply heard the Gospel being proclaimed in a way that caused me to ask myself: do I really want to get better, or am I content being dependent on others?

The Gospel passage being read at that Mass in Walsingham was John 5:1-16, which tells the story of the man at the pool called Bethesda, who was told by Jesus to "pick up your sleeping-mat and walk". This poor man had been living as a rough-sleeper by this pool in Jerusalem for 38-years. There were many other sick and lame people at the pool, and many other homeless men. Whoever was first into the water each day was supposed to be healed - but this man hadn't been able to find someone to help him reach the pool in time, even though he had been there for 38-years! When Jesus heard this man's story, he turned to him and asked, "Do you want to get better?" Now, every time I had previously heard this Gospel being read the priest or deacon had invariably made Our Lord sound a bit lame - "gentle Jesus, meek and mild". But, that particular day in Walsingham, the priest read Jesus's words as if Our Lord was rather frustrated with man: " Do you want to get better?" In other words, Jesus was challenging him - and if the Gospel doesn't challenge us now and again, then something's wrong. He was basically asking the man, seeing that he'd managed to sit on his behind doing nothing for 38-years, whether or not he actually wanted to get better, as it seemed that the rough-sleeper didn't really want to change. As the priest at Walsingham said during the homily, it was probably quite a nice, stress-free life, sitting on the pavement every day, chatting with the same old faces, having a drink, begging for a few pennies. The man had become dependent on others, he was not reaching his full-potential, he was actually "sinning" (as Jesus later told him).

When I heard this Gospel in the Slipper Chapel that day, something inside me clicked - and I turned to Our Lord and said, "Yes, Lord! I want to get better!" Jesus did not miraculously heal the man at the pool called Bethesda, he merely told him to pick up his sleeping bag and walk - in other words, Our Lord told him - and me - to take responsibility for our own lives, to do something useful, to stop taking the easy, co-dependent route. This is important: Christians should help people to help themselves - otherwise they are merely using others to make themselves feel nice inside. The homeless can sometimes be an easy target for do-gooders - those who think they're helping, but who are actually disabling people by not challenging them, or really getting to the root cause of their problems.

"I have come that you may have life - and have it to the full"

I am utterly convinced that Our Lord does not want Christians to hinder others from reaching their full potential. It is easy to hand out a sandwich and feel good about ourselves, but how easy is it to admit that we might be colluding in keeping others trapped in a vicious circle by doing this? How easy is it to challenge others, to really spend time with them so that the root cause of their problems are tackled and they can become constructive members of society once more? Admittedly, it isn't easy to let others reach rock-bottom - that point where they can truly say, "I've had enough, I want to get better!" But, no-one will change unless they want to, and they won't ever reach that stage if others are constantly colluding to keep them "safe" or "comfortable".

Catholic organisations like The Passage help people achieve independence, not dependency. The Sisters, workers, and volunteers at The Passage try to encourage rough-sleepers to choose the options that will really help them find a house, a job, the right benefits, medical aid, and so on. They don't just hand out food or clothes, but they go on to challenge people to seek the help they need, to see their own worth, to love themselves, to love others, to reach a goal, to rebuild relationships, to give up booze or drugs. The Passage, it seems, tries to help others reach the point where they can help themselves. In doing so, they are acting as Jesus would!

In response to Westminster City Council's proposed by-law, The Passage issued this statement, it makes interesting reading, and is totally Christian in its approach:

The Passage’s mission is to provide resources which encourage, inspire and challenge homeless people to transform their lives.

We believe in a hand up, (as opposed to a handout) approach, and our work focuses on addressing the root causes that has led to someone becoming homeless, (e.g. addiction issues, etc), in the first place, to enable that person to address these issues and break the cycle of homelessness once and for all.

In relation to soup runs; The Passage is currently working with those who provide these services to see if there is a better way to serve those on the streets; by bringing such services inside to give people some dignity, (as opposed to having to queue in the outside elements for free food), and to look at how members of the wider community can support our work, (and that of other agencies) in finding other ways of preventing and dealing with homelessness. Whilst The Passage understands the frustration of Westminster City Council in dealing with the huge number of soup runs that arrive into Westminster from outside the borough every week, The Passage would rather see a solution that comes out of dialogue rather than legislation, and we will continue to work towards that goal.

With regard to legislation around rough sleeping for a large area in south Westminster; The Passage is proud of its work with many partner agencies, including our work with Westminster City Council, in making huge strides in dealing with the issue of rough sleeping. However, The Passage is not supportive of a byelaw to deal with rough sleeping, no matter how well intentioned.

In other words, The Passage seems to agree with the motivation behind the proposed bye-law, but thinks that legislation is probably too draconian. It wants to give "a hand up" not "a hand out". The Catholic charity, would also much prefer to enter into dialogue with those ad hoc groups that descend on Westminster every evening (rather than legislate against them in some "big state" kind of way). This process of dialogue would hopefully help these organisations realise that there might be a better way of serving the homeless - a more dignified way at that!

The area around Westminster Cathedral can be messy at the best of times, but the added problem of discarded food and human waste is a real concern. Sadly, many of the homeless people who gather around the Cathedral have severe problems - mainly to do with their addictive or violent behaviour. Sometimes, these issues spill into the Cathedral - with fights breaking out at the back, or individuals coming in during Mass to abuse the worshippers and throw beer about the place. The nightly soup-runs, which attract rough-sleepers to the piazza, add to the anti-social problems in the area - which isn't really fair on the shop-traders, the residents or the worshippers at the Cathedral. Needless to say, the evangelicals and others (some of whom are other Catholics) who come all the way from Richmond or Blackheath to hand out sandwiches on the piazza don't take these things into consideration - they probably don't see that as their problem!

Jesus never used others just to make himself look good - he really wanted them to be better people, to get well, to move on, to convert, to give up sin, to change! Sometimes, I fear, those who think they're helping rough-sleepers by handing out a sandwich and a cup-of-tea at midnight on Westminster Cathedral's piazza are actually doing the opposite - they are merely colluding to keep the poor, the sick and the vulnerable dependent upon their "charity".

Update 24/3/11: It seems that the Council has backed down from its proposed legislation, whilst many homelessness groups that descend on Westminster Cathedral's piazza have also agreed to help rough sleepers in a more constructive and dignified way. See here.