Routes to Roots, in association with The Fisherman Café and for a short period The Kings Arms, has again been able to provide a much needed hot breakfast to rough sleepers over the winter months. This year the service ran from the end of November 2013 to the beginning of April 2014, a shorter period of 18 weeks in comparison to 21 weeks last year when the weather in April was severe.

In that shorter period, the number of individuals assisted has risen to 40, the average number of rough sleepers per week accessing the service has increased by 33% and the number of breakfasts claimed has risen by 38%, 826 breakfasts over 18 weeks compared with 604 breakfasts over 21 weeks – indicating an increasing need amongst our clients. 

Pictured here is one of our rough sleepers. Routes to Roots is grateful to The Fisherman Café, The Kings Arms and to all those funders who have made it possible to make this service available to rough sleepers. This proves a real lifeline to our clients.

When asked why it was important to have a cooked breakfast, another R2R client, Paul Ford said “five nights out of seven there is only cold food available – it gives you one hot meal a day at least – some nights can be rough and it’s good to get camaraderie back – it does lift you after a crap night”. Paul was recently housed in emergency accommodation and whilst he was delighted with this, one thing he did miss was having the hot breakfast and the opportunity to catch up with mates.