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Bathroom Bank to tackle hygiene poverty
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Bathroom Bank to tackle hygiene poverty
“IT’S a small brick in one small wall in building the kingdom of God – but it’s a brick, nonetheless. It makes our world just a little more just, a little more how God wants it to be.”
This is how the Rev Hugo Deadman, Vicar at St Michael and All Angels Church in Paulsgrove, describes the Paulsgrove Bathroom Bank, a new initiative set up in response to the raised awareness of hygiene poverty in his parish.
Hygiene poverty is a growing issue in many of our particularly urban communities, especially since the cost of living crisis hit. People who are already working long hours have to cut corners and make things go further or go without. But staying clean means staying healthy and living with dignity and decency.
Paulsgrove Bathroom Bank was established at St Michael’s and All Angels to help restore that sense of dignity. People can come to the church on Thursday afternoons and Friday and Saturday mornings to choose the essential bathroom items they need, free and without any need for a voucher or a referral. The community has rallied behind this initiative, with Michelle, one of the excellent volunteers, leading a committed team of local people. She has been overwhelmed by people’s generosity in giving so much for them to distribute.
“The people who give so much often don’t have many pennies to rub together themselves. St Paul’s RC Primary School even made it the focus of its Advent Appeal,” says Hugo. “The Bishop of Portsmouth visited the Bathroom Bank before Christmas and said it was an example of building the kingdom of God.
“Something that isn’t right is, in a small way, being put right. And the people of Paulsgrove – Grovers – are part of making that happen. They’re a cracking, generous, feisty bunch, and I’m so proud to be an adopted Grover.”