Rough sleepers from in and around Sheffield were served a three course Christmas dinner today (Wednesday 12 December) at South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue’s headquarters.

The meal, which consisted of turkey and all the trimmings, was paid for by fire service staff and cooked by the service’s chef. Guests were then served a syrup sponge pudding.

The attendees ate in the service’s café facility, which is shared with Age UK Sheffield, after being invited in by Framework’s Street Outreach team. The leftover food from the event has since been sent to the Salvation Army who will be using it to provide their beneficiaries with a Christmas dinner this evening.

Area Manager Tony Carlin, who has led on getting the meal set up, said: “Working with our partners on the Weather Watch scheme has really brought home for us the issue of homelessness in Sheffield and we, with the support of our staff, wanted to give some rough sleepers at least one hot meal this Christmas.

“For us this is a small gesture but hopefully it will go a long way. Everyone who attended the meal was extremely grateful and, whilst it was great for them to get a dinner, the important thing is that our partner agencies were on hand to offer support too.”

Members of staff based at the service’s headquarters donated £5 each to sponsor one meal for a rough sleeper – with any excess money going towards the Red Cross Weather Watch scheme.

Following the event, the service has set up a JustGiving page – with all proceeds going towards Framework Housing Association. This can be found here.

“We’ve had a lot of people asking us how they can help, so we’ve set up a JustGiving page as part of this event. This means that anybody who wants to contribute can do so by donating a sum of their choice, however big or small,” added Tony.

If you’re worried about someone sleeping rough please call Framework on 0800 066 5358 or Text SOTS to 80800 followed by your message, or visit www.streetlink.org.uk.