Dorothy Yim’s work with the St Vincent de Paul (SVP) Society does not stop with handing out food to homeless people in Brighton.

Dorothy, who comes from Hong Kong and is a second year media and communications student at the University of Sussex, became involved with the charity though the University’s Catholic Chaplaincy “because I go to church every Sunday,” she explains.

Thursday evenings begin before 7pm when she accompanies other students from the University and Father Paul Wilkinson, one of the University’s chaplains, to St Mary’s Church in Kemp Town where they pick up supplies including hot drinks, bread and biscuits.

They then go round some local convenience stores, cafes and restaurants to pick up more food and hot soup before collecting the trolley from the St Anne’s Day Centre and taking it to the sea front for around 8pm.

“We usually get around 40 people coming to us but it can get much busier. We were getting up to 70 in the summer.

“English is my second language – but cultural and language barriers seem to evaporate when I talk to them,” said Dorothy.

“Some of them are very friendly and tell us about what they have been doing and how they are. Others just come for the soup and don’t seem to want to disclose much about themselves,” she said.

“All kinds of people come. Some of them we know live on the streets. Others are just very poor. Quite a few say they have children to feed and they take extra helpings home.

"One man always wears a business suit to come and see us. He says that although he is going through a difficult period he does not want his standards to slip. He talks to us about how he is divorced but that he has children to support,” she said.

Lots of the people who come have mental illnesses too.

“Their social workers tell them to come to us,” Dorothy said.

“One man who we know quite well has a home – but he seldom goes to it. Once we helped him when he was distressed and afterwards we went round to where he lives and spoke to his neighbours.

"They told us the man was often noisy and used lots of bad language – but we tried to build bridges for him,” said Dorothy.

Some of the people who turn up have obvious issues with alcohol and drugs too, she said.

“When I tell my parents in Hong Kong about some of my work they are scared. Volunteering opportunities in Hong Kong are more limited. It tends to be limited to fund raising or music recitals in old peoples’ homes.

"Volunteering here has made me calm and responsive during an emergency – and left me prepared and ready to serve,” said Dorothy.

SPV feeds roughly 20,000 people a year in central London and Clacton and Sea besides in Brighton. Its 10,000 volunteers befriend the poor and people who are sleeping rough and offer practical assistance besides food.

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