A sanctuary at Christmas when you’re homeless and hungry
MQI, where 1,000 meals will be served this Christmas week
Imagine… you’re homeless at Christmas. You bedded down in a freezing doorway last night. Scared, waking at every approaching sound. Now it’s daylight, but cold, wet and windy. You’re exhausted, starving, sitting down on cardboard as people hurry to pass you by.
Merchants Quay Ireland offers kindness and compassion when there’s nowhere else to go. Where you’ll feel safe to come inside off the cold streets where you’ve been alone, hungry, dirty and shunned. A place you’ll be accepted, no matter what. Where you’ll be met with warmth by caring staff who’ll look after you… your health, your hygiene, your hunger.
This Christmas week, Merchants Quay Ireland will serve 1,000 nourishing breakfasts, lunches, and evening meals at their Riverbank drop-in centre to homeless and hungry people. But there’s more than food on offer. There are hot showers to warm cold bones and there’s dry clothes available. There’s a doctor, a nurse, a mental health team and help with accommodation.
And the need is so great, it’s overwhelming. That’s why your donation today to Merchants Quay Ireland is so urgent.
The power of a good meal is transformative. Linda, who works in the Riverbank kitchen, says, “The meal they get at MQI could be the first decent meal they’ve had in days. You can see the change in them immediately. Suddenly they feel, ‘I don’t need to worry, I’m safe and I’m warm.’”
Dave, the chef here in MQI, has been cooking hot nutritious meals for 12 years. He says MQI makes all the difference for people who may have no family or friends to spend Christmas with.
“My job is to make sure clients have full bellies, but people want human connection too. Clients will often take their time here and tell you about their life story and what is going on and what happened. It might be a long, long time since they’ve been able to talk over a decent meal.”
Today, your gift comforts people who have lost practically everything. Today, your gift can fill empty bellies with hot, nourishing food. It can ease the pain of loneliness and offer companionship at the dinner table.
Ryan, Project Worker with MQI, says that the loneliness of homelessness can be unbearable for people at Christmas. “The city empties on Christmas week. For people on the streets, it’s a reminder they don’t have friends or family of their own. It can be a miserable time of year and the cold, dark weather makes it worse.”
The importance of public support is key to MQI services – and especially at Christmas. Ryan says “Its your kindness that keeps our doors open over Christmas. People can come in for a chat, maybe their only interaction all day. I see faces light up with a bit of human contact. Sometimes their MQI Key Worker is the only person they have. Not to sound airyfairy but we are like their family.”
Please – give your Christmas gift today. Help people escape the darkness and come into the light and warmth of MQI – with warm welcomes, hot teas and nutritious meals, and vital care and support.
“I wish you could see the look on people’s faces, as they wrap their hands around a steaming cup of tea or tuck into a hot dinner – probably the first decent meal they’ve had in days.
“People can come in for a chat, maybe their only interaction all day. I see faces light up with a bit of human contact.
“Clients will often take their time here and tell you about their life story and what is going on and what happened. It might be a long, long time since they’ve been able to talk things over a decent meal.”