Local charity SoundCafe has celebrated 10 years of loving service through its vital work of gathering and supporting people in Leicester who have experienced homelessness or are vulnerable due to their housing situation.
During the last decade, SoundCafe has provided safe, creative spaces for its ‘guests’ with lived experience of homelessness to develop their gifts of singing, poetry, creative writing, craft and football skills.
All this has been delivered within a caring community and based weekly out of St. Mary de Castro Church in Leicester, a place it now calls home, reflecting the roots of the charity within local parish churches and the diocese.
To mark the 10th birthday, a concert was held at St. Mary de Castro, featuring the SoundCafe choir - under the baton of Emma Trounson - and poetry contributions from SoundCafe guests.
The performance included SoundCafe favourites such as Streets of Leicester, Lean on Me, You Raise Me Up, and Any Dream Will Do, whilst the poetry included items from the highly commended 2022 Speaking of Homelessness film which enabled the guests of SoundCafe to find their voice, sharing their experiences and stories.
One poem, written by a guest and expressing what SoundCafe meant to them, said: “SoundCafe is my family and always will be.”
The special birthday concert welcomed back the founder of the creative charity, Revd Helen Hayes, who spoke about how SoundCafe demonstrated ‘the importance for everyone of dreaming dreams and seeing what is possible.’
Former and current trustees also spoke of their experiences with SoundCafe, of being carried along by something bigger than themselves, and of the importance of all the weekly social gatherings with cake.
Archdeacon of Leicester, the Ven. Richard Worsfold, who attended the celebration on behalf of the Bishop’s Mission Order, said: “It was wonderful to see so many people from churches and communities in the diocese involved as SoundCafe volunteers, supporting choir members and poetry speakers and hearing how much they are being blessed through their loving service of others.”
SoundCafe Director, Rachel Griffiths, thanked those who had made the last ten years possible and expressed her hope that, with their ongoing support, SoundCafe could look forward to the next ten years.
She reflected on the way partnerships are at the heart of the work undertaken by the charity, working with Leicester Samaritans, Leicester City in the Community, the Centre Project, and more recently, Leicestershire Cares.
Rachel also recognised that everyone involved has helped realise the dream of SoundCafe, giving special thanks to the volunteer team and the stars of the concert - the guests themselves.
For more information on SoundCafe and how you can support their work, visit their website.
‘Speaking of Homelessness’ is a recorded anthology of creative writing from the guests of SoundCafe Leicester. Watch it on YouTube.