Bring me HOME

Tash had put her life back together - now it was her turn to help someone else

- Tess Niland Kimber

Tash filled the teapot from the urn. ‘Centre’s busy,’ she said, nodding towards the snaking queue.

‘Weather’s driving them inside. It’s bitter,’ Vic said, handing a mug of tea to Stan, one of Sleep Tight’s regulars.

‘What’s for eats?’ the old man asked, rubbing his stubbly chin.

‘We’ve stew on the go, Stan. Should warm you up.’

‘Hope so,’ he sniffed.

Tash searched the long line. There were new faces, but most were regulars, sent there from the streets by the outreach team. The forecast had warned of a freezing minus-two temperature, with five centimetres of snow. No one should have to sleep out in that, Tash thought. No one should have to sleep out, full stop.

She checked the queue again but couldn’t see him. ‘No Billy tonight?’ she asked Vic.

The older man studied her kindly. ‘Not yet. Maybe he’s found another shelter.’

‘Perhaps,’ she whispered, knowing it was unlikely.

Sleep Tight was the town’s only homeless centre. Billy wouldn’t leave the area in this weather to go to another one. She’d been worried about the tall dark-haired man for days now. Where was he?

When Vic and his wife Marie set up Sleep Tight, it only offered bed and food. But now, housed in the old community centre, it had expanded. During the day, the offices were a hive of activity as counsellors advised on everything from housing to benefits, a resident doctor treated clients for ailments and addictions, then there were training and occupational health classes.