Yahoo Movies London Euston Station to become a homeless shelter on Christmas Day while trains have a day off
Euston Station in London will open its doors to 200 homeless people on Christmas Day while the transport hub is shut to commuters.
With no trains running from Euston until after Boxing Day, the concourse will be covered with decorations as 30 volunteers from Network Rail help run the event.
They will work alongside volunteers from homelessness charity St Mungo’s and Streets Kitchen, which provides meals for 1,000 people on the streets every week.
Streets Kitchen will be making a full Christmas dinner, while volunteers from Network Rail will be helping to serve up and chatting with guests on the day.
Steve Naybour, head of transformation in Network Rail’s track team, said: “Thousands and thousands of my colleagues will already be working on Christmas Day to improve the railway for passengers.
“Working on Christmas Day is pretty much par for the course for many of us who work for Network Rail but this year, because I wasn’t scheduled to work, myself and a handful of colleagues came up with this plan to feed some of London’s homeless instead.”
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“St Mungo’s and Streets Kitchen have been fantastic.
“And I’m proud to say we’ve had lots of interest from Network Rail colleagues to volunteer and come along on the day to help out.”
Beth Nordon, community and events manager for St Mungo’s, said: “Many people become homeless because of relationship breakdowns so Christmas can be a particularly lonely time for some of our residents.
“Our thanks to Network Rail, their staff and volunteers, for helping some of our residents in Camden and neighbouring boroughs feel included in the community this Christmas Day.”
Joe Hendry, station manager at Euston, said: “The station team is delighted to bring this unique event to life.
“Stations are at the heart of local communities and we want to provide a legacy through good relationships with organisations like St Mungo’s and Streets Kitchen that supports the homeless community in and around our station long after the buzz of Christmas has died down.”
