St Mary’s Ward councillors are supporting a vital project that offers shelter to homeless people in Islington in the cold winter months.

The Margins cold weather shelter project, which offers homeless people a lifeline between January and March, runs in conjunction with CARIS (Christian Action and Response in Society) Islington. Seven churches in the borough take turns to provide shelter on a different night to provide week-round cover. One of these churches is the Union Chapel in St Mary’s Ward, which opens on Wednesday nights. 

St Mary’s Ward councillors have contributed over £2,300 to the Margins cold weather shelter project through Islington Council’s Local Initiative Fund (LIF), a small grants scheme that supports activities and improvements across Islington. The funding will support Margins to provide vital and potentially life-saving services for homeless people.

At Margins, up to 17 street sleepers are catered for and have access to a range of support; warm beds, good food, clothing, laundry facilities, showers, medical support, books, games, television and, perhaps most important of all, the company of others.

The people who use the shelters may not necessarily be Islington residents but it is a reciprocal arrangement, meaning there are homeless people originating from Islington being offered a lifeline in another borough.

The project relies on 35 dedicated volunteers, some of whom will be from the wider community and others who are ex-clients. This is the result of Margin’s work to support clients to move away from the streets.

Cllr Angela Picknell, of St Mary’s Ward, said: “I am proud that we are supporting Margins again this year. It’s impossible to be content knowing that, in the cold after-Christmas days, people are on the streets, exposed and uncared for. The project offers a vital lifeline to homeless people who are particularly at risk at such a cold time of year.”

Cllr Nurullah Turan, of St Mary’s Ward, added: “The Margins project does vital work for the homeless and I am pleased we are able to support it through Islington Council’s LIF grants scheme. Many of the people who rely on Margins have nowhere else to turn to and, by the end of each season, some of them will be settled and housed. This funding will help to change vulnerable members of society’s lives for the better.”  

Pictured – Cllr Angela Picknell, St Mary’s Ward