The LifeHouse praises the Comfort and Joy campaign as Portsmouth rallies at Christmas

The LifeHouse is a food kitchen that welcomes rough sleepers and people going through a difficult time. They offer a hot breakfast with a food bag of choice to take away and they are open Wednesday’s for breakfast and Thursday’s for a hot dinner.

The charity has been part of the festive campaign for the last six years and are excited to be part of it again this year as it helps those that need it the most.

The Comfort and Joy campaign is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and each year, it sets out to collect gift vouchers of £5 and Christmas cards with messages inside, where they will then be distributed across all of the charities involved.

Mike Morell, manager at the LifeHouse, said: ‘It is all about making Christmas special and very personal for people. It gives us something we can do beyond our ability as a small food kitchen in Southsea.

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‘It is lovely and the act itself is far greater than anything else, and it just shows what can be achieved by people with hearts.’

The Southsea charity also offers clothes, shoes, sleeping bags, other equipment, toiletries, coats, socks, underwear, counselling, support with their employment skills and CV.

Mike added: ‘It is real kindness and we are helping not just rough sleepers, but we are helping people that are sofa surfing, struggling with mental health and recovering addicts.

‘With the voucher, they can spoil themselves with a little something and they feel noticed, respected and valued in the community and that means a great deal.’

The charity has been established since 2013, and has helped hundreds of people that need support and food whilst they overcome hardship, and the festive appeal gives them the opportunity to have some financial freedom.

The campaign supports a number of local charities including Two Saints, Friends Without Borders, Stop Domestic Abuse, Roberts Centre and more, all of which support vulnerable people who receive the voucher from complete strangers who also want to help them.