This week, the Haslemere Methodist Church have launched an appeal for funding, in the hope that the community will come together to support their latest ambitious project to install shower and laundry facilities in the heart of the town.

The aim of the project is to provide people who are homeless or facing housing insecurity with somewhere safe and welcoming to wash, freshen up and clean their clothes. Sadly, Haslemere is seeing a growing number of people locally who do not have access to the basic facilities that most of us would take for granted. Being able to have a hot shower, put on clean clothes and take care of personal hygiene can make an enormous difference – not only to someone’s physical wellbeing, but also to their dignity, confidence and sense of self-worth.

These facilities will provide a simple but extremely important form of practical support for people experiencing homelessness and hardship. It will also complement the help already available in our town provided by local charities, churches and community organisations.

Jo Mackay, Chair of the Haslemere Food Bank said, ‘I think people would be extremely surprised to hear that Haslemere has a growing homeless population. But we have seen a huge increase in the number of people coming through our doors. It’s now not uncommon to find people sofa surfing, sleeping in a car or under the stars. Others who may have a roof over their heads but are struggling financially may not have access to a washing machine. The nearest launderette is in Farncombe and, when you don’t have your own transport, accessing this facility is not easy.’

Applications for grants have already been submitted to various church bodies and other charitable groups and organisations. It is hoped that these will be successful so that the organisers will soon secure two thirds of the necessary funding to get the project up and running. But, a considerable amount more is still needed before the building work can begin.

They are therefore reaching out to the wider Haslemere community - to its residents, local businesses, charities, groups and organisations - for help. A GoFundMe page has been set up, enabling people to easily make a contribution. Every donation, however large or small, will help them get closer to creating a facility that offers dignity, care and practical support at a particularly difficult time in someone’s life.

If you would like to help, you can make a donation via their GoFundMe page. Alternatively, if you would like to help but are unable to donate, then sharing this appeal with others will also make a huge difference.

Jo told us, 'The Food Bank has operated from the church for 14 years. In the last 12 months alone, we distributed 1057 food parcels. But our client profile is changing: we are seeing less families in need but the number of single clients has risen by 18% and single people now account for well over 50% of our clients. It's a depressing statistic but we estimate that over the last three months, approximately one third of our single clients were estimated to be homeless or living in insecure accommodation. With community support, we can at least make sure that people facing homelessness in our community have somewhere they can come to wash, have clean clothes and feel cared for.'