Bristol homeless drop-in centre receives £1,000 donation from local housebuilder Morton Meadows Thornbury sets up donation point for Wild Goose drop-in centre which has served one million hot meals in a decade A recently refurbished drop-in centre in Bristol that has served one million hot meals to homeless people in the last decade has received £1,000 from a leading local housebuilder as part of a £4,000 donation across the region. David Wilson Homes is supporting the award-winning Wild Goose centre in Easton, run by Bristol-based Christian charity ‘inHope', and providing free hot showers, clothes, toiletries and hot meals to homeless people and those in extreme poverty. During the pandemic the centre underwent a major refurbishment but continued to provide essential take away meals from a pop-up facility nearby. Now fully reopened, the Wild Goose is back to full capacity with a fresh and inviting café and support centre offering free advice on housing, employment, health and citizens' rights to those in need. David Wilson Homes, which is currently building much-needed new homes at Morton Meadows in Thornbury has also set up a donation point in the development‘s sales centre to collect food and clothing donations from visitors and residents which the team will deliver to the charity. The Wild Goose centre has helped an estimated 10,000 homeless people since it opened in 2010. During the pandemic, when many more people were experiencing extreme hardship, the Wild Goose centre operated a pop-up food takeaway service providing up to 100 meals per day for those most in need. The £1,000 donation comes from Barratt and David Wilson Homes' Local Community Fund which donates £3,000 every month to local community causes and initiatives across the South West. Louise Ware, sales director at David Wilson Homes South West said: 12
"The Wild Goose centre provides a vital life-line to some of the people in greatest need in Bristol. We believe passionately in supporting people and communities where we are building much-needed new homes so we're pleased to be able to make this contribution to Wild Goose to help the team continue its vital work. Through our donation point at Morton Meadows, we hope to raise awareness of the fantastic work the charity does as well as collecting food and clothing to help homeless and vulnerable people in and around Bristol." Mick Connolly, Manager at the Wild Goose said: "At the start of the pandemic the Centre underwent a major refurbishment. We vacated the building but continued to provide essential take away meals from a pop-up facility. Against the devastating backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic and reduced restrictions, on the 6th September we opened a Covid secure indoor service, offering people some respite from the cold. The service continues to evolve consistently serving 100 -120 people over the breakfast and lunch period. We are now back to providing free hot showers, clothes, toiletries, fresh laundry and hot meals to the homeless and those in extreme poverty.
