Ace of Clubs help from day centre in London

The main services from the Ace of Clubs address housing and hunger in London. To address the hardships faced by many London families, the charity will provide them with free meals as well as other support, such as temporary housing. There are hundreds of people per week that use the services from the Ace of Clubs in order to get short term help.

The clients come from many backgrounds. They may be on a low income or people that have had a reduction in their welfare benefits. Others are homeless or have a disability. The number of people seeking help from the charity has doubled over the past year as well. The organisation will assist people of all backgrounds and they do no discriminate.

Assistance at the drop in centre

The main centre is at St Alphonsus Road, London. This is where a person can meet with a volunteer or team member from Ace of Clubs. They can have their immediate needs addressed, whether it is practical items or a meal. The services are as follows.

-Housing is available from emergency shelter.
-Free food and meals are served. In fact, last year over 20,000 meals were provided to the vulnerable.
-Hygiene and practical support includes laundry, toilets, soap, showers, and more.
-Clothing, bike repairs, Winter Night Shelter, and other aid is provided too.
-Refugees and new arrivals can work with a team member to locate housing in London

At the Ace of Clubs drop in centre, the client can be referred to other programmes as well. The team works to take a holistic approach to solving the needs of the client and refer them to other services. This may be as follows.

-Accommodations, including both shelters in Lambeth as well as information on London rent deposit schemes to pay for a private home. Almost 100 people were placed into housing last year.
-The homeless can be referred to health care or job training, Opticians, and substance mis-users can also get help.
-Form filling is also offered by Ace of Clubs for local welfare schemes, which can help pay for certain bills or living expenses.
-Employment needs are provided from Job Centre Plus Links.
-Clients can also receive basic computing lessons from the IT Suite.
-Ace of Clubs partners with CityLit on budgeting and financial literacy.

One of the biggest drivers to the increase in people from across London seeking assistance is the government cuts to everything from local welfare to other safety net services. This has lead to an increase in food bank usage in Lambeth as well as more people struggle to pay their bills. So they are turning to Ace of Clubs for advice or short term assistance.

Meals are given to anyone. However what the charity has found is that in addition to food, many people appreciate the free advice they are provided from the team. It often allows them to improve their living conditions.

Ace of Clubs allows people to make appointments over the phone. Or they can drop in at the address of St Alphonsus Road, London, SW4 7AS. The hours to stop in are limited, and are only open from Monday to Friday 12pm-3pm.