Portsmouth project put smile on faces of city's homeless and vulnerable with Christmas dinner

Volunteers from the Robert Dolling Project put together a Christmas dinner for the homeless and vulnerable at St Agatha's Church last night thanks to donations from companies and individuals from across Portsmouth.

Harry, 71, has come along to the weekly dinner at the church before.

He said: ‘The staff are friendly and they don’t mess about. The food is good and it means people have somewhere to go.’

The project is entering its third year and volunteers say they have served over 3,000 meals.

Paul Hartley said: ‘We give them a good meal and somewhere to go. We have lots of volunteers and people are so generous across religions and different communities.’

Singer Amy Baker from Portsmouth provided entertainment for the evening as the attendees tucked into their dinner.

Bill Shannon, who runs Help us Support the Homeless (HUSH), teamed up with the project last year and brought along Christmas boxes filled with toiletries, hats and treats to the dinner.

He said: ‘We work together and support each other. I do this because I enjoy helping people.’

One Christmas meal attendee told The News: ‘It is nice here because the food is good and you get support. It is also not just for the homeless either as there are people here who can't afford to heat or have nothing to cook with where they live so this is place they can come.’

Among the volunteers were Tory Councillor Steve Weymss and Lib Dem Councillor Suzy Horton as well as Dr Liz Shepherd who volunteers along with her children.

She added: ‘It boosts the kids’ confidence to help others and we get stuck in making tea and coffee and it is so important to help people.’

The volunteers wanted to say thank you to the individuals and restaurants who donated; Don Jerrard, Antionette Stretton from the Seacrest Hotel, Roberto Gianni from Bella Calabria Restaurant, Barbara Halson, Bardyl Cira Construction, Dr Nazmin Aktar, John Ahmed from the Ghandi Restaurant, Mohammed Kadir from Kadir Restaurant, Gosen Yalcin and Tony Sarigul from Istabul Kebab, David from Chit Chat Cafe, Kosna from Mediterranean Supermarket and Arthur Smith-Weston.