Christmas helpers in the wrong place

-Christmas 2017 at Euston Station in London-. 

UK: Christmas is a special time when many people want to celebrate with their family. After our elderly parents passed, my husband, David and I tried to give a new meaning to the celebration. We wanted to bring joy to people who were less fortunate than us.

This year we set out to help the many homeless people in London celebrate Christmas. We discovered that Network Rail, one of the major rail companies in the UK, was planning a Christmas event for homeless people at one of their major London stations, Euston Station. The background is this:

Happy Christmas stickers

There is no public transport in the UK on Christmas Day, no tube, no buses, no trains. The underlying idea is that drivers and other transport workers should also be able to celebrate Christmas with their families. Who would disagree with this argument? – Well, probably all those who don’t celebrate Christmas, either because they don’t belong to any religion or a different religion or because they don’t have family-like relationships! But those who want to celebrate with their family scattered all over London, or the country, are not entirely happy about it. If there is no public transport, there is only the car and, depending on the weather and distance, a walk.

Network Rail, however, felt inspired by the idea of filling an empty station with life at Christmas of all times. What could be better than using it for a Christmas party for the homeless?

We thought it was a good idea and offered our help as volunteers to become Christmas helpers.

We don’t live far from Euston Station (only five stops on the tube – if it ran), so we could walk it. So that shouldn’t be a problem. But unfortunately, it was!

Full of beans, I jumped out of bed on the morning of Christmas Eve, got caught on the door frame and broke my little toe. Ah! That hurt! My foot immediately swelled up so that I could only fit into my husband’s slippers for my walk to the Royal Free Hospital emergency room around the corner from us. An X-ray confirmed my suspicions, and a kindly nurse bound my toes tightly so the fracture would remain stable.

However, I didn’t let this incident get me down, and we stuck to our Christmas volunteering idea. We just had to rearrange things a bit.

At that time, however, we had no idea what else was in store.

The mobility problem with my current walking disability was easily solved. We went by car and parked as close as possible to Euston station.

We rang the bell at the side entrance to sign up to volunteer and were in good spirits, looking forward to being part of a successful and valuable event.

Stop - don't let them in!

But just as the door opened to let us in, a frantically excited man came running towards us, yelling, “Stop, don’t let them in! Stop them!”

The Network Rail staff and we looked at him, startled and confused. He shouted, completely beside himself, “They want a free meal, and I just saw them get out of a car. This is a scam! They are not entitled to this free meal!”

It took us a moment to realise the misunderstanding. The Network Rail employee saved the day and explained to the enraged citizen, who thought he had exposed a gigantic welfare scam, that we were volunteers at the Christmas party for the homeless. Now it was his turn to be confused. But he quickly changed his attitude, shook my husband’s hand and said, “Thank you very much, sir, that’s very kind of you, sir.” And with that, he disappeared, probably back to his spying post in the streets around the station to turn in more suspicious car owners looking for a free Christmas meal.

We, however, were led into the station hall. There were about 120 other people already waiting to be assigned a task. The organiser had not expected so many helpers and needed lots of imagination to keep everyone busy. There were groups who, for example, greeted the visitors, guided them to different places, distributed food or drinks, sang Christmas carols, etc.

Welcome to the toilets at Euston Station!

Unfortunately, we both drew the short straw. Our job was the toilet service. That meant we had to direct visitors to the toilets. “Welcome to the toilets at Euston Station. Here are the ladies’…. Here are the gents’….”. We also had to ensure that no visitor lingered too long in the cubicles, perhaps injecting themselves with heroin. The organisers were terrified that someone might overdose on their watch (as if all homeless people were junkies).

What an uplifting task! We soon got bored. At this time of the day, not many people seemed to need to go to the toilet. The promise of rotation so that we could also do a more appealing task for a while was not kept. No one went on toilet duty voluntarily!

Fortunately, there were 12 of us toilet attendants, and we promised each other to take turns. After about two hours of instructing and observing, Dave and I were relieved by others in our group.

Having escaped the station loo, we first went to the Network Rail offices to pick up our promised cup of tea and biscuits. Then we mingled with the station visitors and had a look around.

Christmas wishes stickers

For a while, we listened to the lively tunes of a Father Christmas on his electric guitar. Then, around the corner, someone was serving mince pies and non-alcoholic mulled wine and urged us to take some because they had too much of it. No problem! We could help with that. Afterwards, we joined a choir and sang a few Christmas carols. Some of the charities involved offered valuable things at their stalls, such as brand-new free blankets and sleeping bags for the cold nights on the street. Others gave away second-hand jumpers and trousers.

It was all nice and well-intentioned. But where were the homeless who were supposed to be the beneficiaries of this event?

Where are the homeless people?

We could only make out a few lonely figures scattered around the many tables. They sat there with a Christmas hat on their heads, nibbling timidly at their biscuits and obviously feeling extremely uncomfortable. The announced Christmas dinner was not ready yet. Maybe the organisers wanted to wait until more homeless guests had arrived. What a sad sight! What a bleak scenario!

My husband and I felt embarrassed at this failure of a well-intentioned event. But what made us angry was the behaviour of the abundant media representatives.

Media looking for sentimental Christmas stories

We counted about seven TV crews focusing on the few homeless people, trying to get interviews to capture their gratitude and maybe pick up a few juicy stories about life on the streets of London. This Christmas party for the needy homeless could be made into some sentimental Christmas stories for the audience in their festively decorated living rooms, after all!

The charities’ representatives and we could not believe what the press people were doing! They were massively trying to invade the privacy of the homeless people present. There was not a trace of personal privacy or respect for their dignity!

None of these journalists, who ruthlessly held the camera and the microphone in front of people’s noses, probably thought that behind the people living on the street were perhaps families, relations, and secrets. Maybe someone had fled from their family or from a violent partner. Perhaps someone had told their family who lived far away that they were fine, had a job, a flat and a normal life in London. It would be horrible if the reality was revealed in a Christmas TV show.

Whether they had a secret to keep or simply wanted to protect their dignity, none of the few homeless people wanted to talk to the press or be filmed or photographed.

No wonder, then, that most shifted uncomfortably and nervously on their chairs while others left the event altogether. It wasn’t worth it to get a cheap free meal, biscuit or soft drink!

Dave and I realised that this event was not living up to the expectations of the volunteers to do something worthwhile or of the homeless to have a nicer Christmas Day than usual.

We left the station and walked past the bicycle racks onto the street. And there they were. The homeless! The road was swarming with homeless men and women – and their dogs.

Yes, of course, that was it!

Merry Christmas - but your dog has to stay outside

Network Rail did not allow the homeless to bring their dogs inside the station or into the grounds. Anyone who wanted a free Christmas meal had to leave their dog on the street. What a Christmas atmosphere! Isn’t it common knowledge that many homeless people, like other dog lovers too, are very attached to their dogs and wouldn’t leave them alone on the street, even for a free Christmas meal!!!

But a group of vets felt obliged to the true spirit of Christmas and sacrificed their Christmas Day to examine the dogs of the homeless. In return, however, there was no concession from the authorities. The free area at the side entrance of Euston station, which would have been ideal for a more comfortable examination and treatment of the dogs, was not allowed to be used. Therefore, the volunteer vets had to work on the pavement next to the busy road. They examined the dogs, cleaned ears and abscesses, treated injuries, cleaned and bandaged injured paws and much more. They distributed toys, dog food and dog medication. In short – they offered much-needed help. Of course, the homeless stayed with their dogs. They were so grateful to the vets that they readily gave up the free meal and preferred to remain in the company of their dogs and the vets.

The Christmas spirit: goodwill towards all people, but not their dogs. They have to stay outside.

The organisers did not repeat this event the following year. We wonder why.

(LL and DL)