Charity given huge PPE donation to help prepare meals for homeless - after fire at Sheffield Cathedral

Despite reopening, the Cathedral Archer Project remains without running water after a fire at the rear of Sheffield Cathedral on Campo Lane, where they are based.

The charity works with homeless and vulnerable people in Sheffield to help them find ways out of homelessness and exclusion.

The Domino Hall, where the fire took place on Thursday, May 15, has been used throughout lockdown to prepare around 200 meals a day for vulnerable people who have been taken off the streets and placed into accommodation because of coronavirus, as well as food for around 25 people in the city who are still homeless and with nowhere else left to go.

A 40-year-old woman from Sheffield has been charged with arson and burglary in relation to the incident.

On Wednesday (May 20), UK disaster relief charity Samaritan’s Purse delivered PPE stock worth more than £1000 to the Project, including thousands or pairs of gloves and hundreds of face masks as well as 26 litres of hand sanitiser.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “The staff at the Cathedral were finding it incredibly difficult to source sanitiser to be able to continue operating and were extremely grateful for the unexpected gift.”

The donation was made as part of the ‘This is Love’ initiative from Samaritan’s Purse, which has been supplying UK churches and charities with PPE as they strive to meet the practical needs of the most disadvantaged.

Chris Roberts from the charity, who drove from Birmingham to make the delivery, said: “It was just a blessing for us to help them.

“They are struggling but they are doing a great job. I left feeling pleased I had made the effort to go up there.”

Andy Parfrement from the Cathedral Archer Project said: “This has been a godsend, especially the hand sanitiser as our water has been turned off.”