Rhythms of Life homeless assistance in London

Rhythms of Life is located in Hackney but the charity supports people across all of the city of London. They provide many forms of assistance to families and individuals that are on a low income. While the aim is to solve housing needs, there are also free food parcels, Rehabilitative Classes, meals clothes, and other assistance given out. It is so called basic needs charity organisation.

Anyone that is hungry can drop by the Community Cafe. Volunteers work there to feed the less fortunate. There are over 30,000 hot meals prepared or food parcels given out per year. The contents of the parcels depends on donations from partners and businesses, including Tesco and Sainsburys. The charity takes surplus grocery items from those and other partners and packs the items into food parcel boxes for the poor.

When it comes to the meals from the Rhythms of Life Cafe, the volunteers prepare them so the servings vary throughout the year. There may even be special Christmas meals served to the low income.

The main Rhythms of Life centre is in Hackney. This is where the food schemes are run from. But there are many other support services available there too. All beneficiaries of the charity can drop in year-round. While there they can get advice on the following.

• The team at Rhythms of Life can help with applications to safety net schemes, including welfare grants for paying bills, local housing allowance (LHA), legal aid for evictions, and others.
• Workshops are held on how to live on the small amount of money from benefit schemes, including Universal Credit.
• Sponsors, including from Citizens Advice, drop in to provide guidance to clients as well.

All of these services, and others, are available at the Community Cafe. It generally gives people a safe place to stay warm, socialise, and gain the information they need to help end a cycle of poverty. All of this is done at the same time as a meal being served.

Free In-Kind goods are also given out by the Rhythms of Life. Most of this is for the homeless, but others can get support too. There is everything from vouchers for warm clothing to blankets for people sleeping rough on the streets or in parks of London. They also give out hygiene supplies, including soap, so the homeless can stay fresh. All of these are part of the charities free voucher schemes, which benefit the poor in the area.

Volunteers go across Hackney and London where the homeless are. They given those food and hygiene items while referring clients to partner groups as well, including the Salvation Army or other emergency shelters in London. Since the Rhythm of Life has limited resources, they rely on those other partners as well to meet demands.

Individuals in poverty and the homeless can enroll into Rehabilitative Classes. This is a holistic process for solving the root cause of the financial problem. There are classes on the following needs.

• Literacy, including how to read and improve English.
• Employablity skills range from IT to typing and the use of the internet.
• Soft skills classes on art, cooking, and living healthy.

All of these classes assist with the long term rehabilitation of clients. It can put them on the path to stable housing as well as employment, which may lead to the client getting off on a reliance to benefits.

Rhythms of Life has a post of 19-22 Tower Street, Seven Dials, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9TW. This is where the Cafe is located and the rehabilitative classes are held. Ring the charity at 020 7836 7403 for more information.