Trinity Winchester welcomed a special visitor this week to their day centre to thank staff and volunteers for their adaptability and continued support of homeless and vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mayor, Cllr Patrick Cunningham and his wife joined staff and Peter North, Trinity’s Chair of Trustees and President of Winchester Rotary, Richard Spalding for breakfast to offer thanks for their invaluable work over the last few months and to view the preparatory work for their new accommodation project. Trinity is a charity providing support to homeless and vulnerable people in Winchester and the surrounding area. The charity operates from a day centre in central Winchester offering practical and emotional support to help people out of homelessness and ready to move on to independent living and into employment.  The Mayor commented “Trinity Winchester is always greatly appreciated, but this year of course it has never been more vital.” Trinity adapted extremely quickly to meet the challenges of the pandemic, ensuring they could  continue to support the homeless in emergency accommodation. Their new Trinity2U service ensured they could continue to support all rough sleepers in emergency accommodation. Staff visited four times a day, delivering cooked nutritious lunches & breakfast packs, supplying clean bedding, clothing and hygiene products. Staff also made regular well-being calls, counselling and facilitated GP appointments over the phone. Just as importantly they continued to help people aspire towards fulfilling futures by providing distance learning and distraction packs, art and mindfulness workbooks to support mental well-being. Trinity’s Emergency Appeal was launched within days of the start of lockdown and raised over £30,000 to enable them to continue their work. Trinity’s biggest fundraising events of 2020 had to be cancelled so their emergency appeal was vital to help them continue their support. Sue McKenna, CEO at Trinity Winchester, said: “With lockdown restrictions in place we were determined to ensure our support continued – imagine trying to self-isolate when you’re homeless and have few belongings. It was wonderful for our staff to talk about their work to the Mayor and his wife and outline how we will continue to adapt and support people in the coming months.” “Coronavirus is going to present us with a new crisis in the future. People have lost jobs, income, mental health will soar and people are in desperate need of our support. Supporting Trinity will ensure we can continue delivering the vital services to help people to get off the streets – and stay off them.”