Providing some comfort and joy

STANDING outside in the heart of one of the top five most deprived housing estates in Britain, I hesitate briefly to take stock of my surroundings.

It is less than two weeks to Christmas and I have been invited to Thorntree Community Church, on the Thorntree estate, in Middlesbrough. As a Teesside girl - born and bred - I am ashamed to admit that I needed a sat nav to lead me to my destination. I had never been to this area of Middlesbrough before, and it soon brought home to me that my neighbours had not had the same fortunate upbringing and opportunities in life that I had.

But that was it - they were my neighbours and I was sadly ignorant to the pressing problems in my own community.

Eager to escape the bitter winter chill, I quickly left my car and approached a large, overbearing set of steel reinforced doors. Slowly prising them open - shamefully eager not to damage my freshly manicured nails - warm air immediately hit me and, barely able to adjust my eyes, a lady - festively dressed in red with Christmas earrings - rushes over to me, smiling and offering me a cup of tea.

The lady is Wendy Brading, who I was about to discover is - in every sense of the word - an unsung hero.

Eight years ago, Wendy and her friend, Ann Simpson, founded a lunch club for people struggling with the most taboo of problems. People who are embroiled in prostitution, drug addiction, or who are homeless, are welcomed through the doors with open arms. Any prejudices or judgements are left at the door and here is a world which offers support, friendship, warmth and food to the most vulnerable of people.

These are people who society has given up on, or have been lost through the system - they have been excluded and isolated. And their crime? They have - for one reason or another - fallen into a world so easily open to you or I.

A cruel twist of fate has taken them down a dark road with nowhere and, in most cases, no one, to turn to.

And it was this incredible injustice which fuelled Wendy and Ann's desire to make a difference.

With support from the church, which is part of The Christian Centre, in Middlesbrough, and under the Retired Senior Voluntary Persons (RSVP) organisation, Wendy and Ann set about realising their dream.

"We went to the Senior Citizens' Voluntary Service and they gave us all the necessary pots and pans," explains Wendy.

"The church gave us the use of the building, so all the costs of the building are paid for, so that was a big help.

"We are there for homeless people, people on the streets, people living in hostels, people who have got addictions such as drug or alcohol addictions, prostitutes - all these people you see on the streets with nowhere to go, nowhere to live.

They may have fallen out with their families and lost everything. It really breaks your heart.

"We have one lady who comes here. She is not homeless, just lonely, and she is 99."

The luncheon club is held every fortnight.

Wendy says: "We cook a twocourse meal and it is absolutely free to everyone and anyone who comes. We cook for about 45, but sometimes we take a big dip and there is about 30. But we don't waste anything - nothing gets put in the bin."

The luncheon club relies solely on the work of the handful of tireless volunteers and is funded by donations.

Strangely, no donations are received from businesses or large organisations, which, say Wendy and Ann, don't want to be associated with people with these sorts of problems.

Instead, the money comes from the community.

"These people are on the streets," explains Wendy.

"They come here with huge problems and it breaks your heart. They might cry and we just take them in and talk to them and try to council them. If they need to speak to a particular agency then we help them. I have had calls at 12 or one in the morning with young people just breaking their hearts."

It is very clear that Wendy, Ann and their team do not just offer a free lunch. This is a service which provides a lifeline to people.

And there have been many success stories.

Our conversation is suddenly interrupted when Wendy and Ann shriek with joy.

"Tony" they both squeal. I look round and walking towards us is a man with a huge grin on his face.

Here was one of the success stories.

A few years ago, Tony was living in Wellington House, a hostel in Middlesbrough. He was depressed and he had lost contact with his family.

He told me: "I came here one morning and I met nice people and these ladies were so kind to me. They also ran a cookery club one day a week and that helped me out."

Now, Tony is a proud father to 11-week-old Katy, has his own home and is looking forward to getting married.

He also spends his time between travelling Middlesbrough and Australia after being reunited with his family.

Emotionally, Tony tells me: "I have just come a full circle. If it had not been for these two ladies I'd still be in Wellington House."

Ann adds: "It is great to see someone getting their life back."

"We don't get paid to work,"

explains Wendy, "But that is more than any payment - no one can put a price on that - just giving someone their life back."

One volunteer, Marjorie Wright, has seen her health improve through helping at the lunch club. Battling problems, including emphysema, Marjorie spent most of her days sitting at home.

She says: "Wendy asked me to get involved. When I told her I couldn't do much, she said I could always help out with the veg. Now I get out and I'm more active. Here we are showing people love."

Last year, the work of the lunch club attracted the attention on Channel 4's reality show, Secret Millionaire.For two weeks, Surrey businessman Paul Williams, who has amassed a fortune of £50m, lived undercover in Middlesbrough as part of the programme.

The show parachutes wealthy philanthropists into some of the UK's most deprived neighbourhoods.

During his stay on the estate, Mr Williams met the lunch club, helped in the kitchen and went to North Ormesby market to buy vegetables.

He became impressed with the way the group not only provided a meal to vulnerable people, but also helped and supported those who wanted to turn their lives around.

And when the two weeks were up, Mr Williams shocked Wendy, Ann and fellow volunteers when he revealed who he really was and presented them with a cheque for £10,000.

The club bought a minibus which is used to pick people up for the lunch club from places in Thorntree.

After spending a good two hours at the club, I left with a mixture of feelings. I had been welcomed with open arms and talked to so many friendly people - some who poured their heart out to me and told me their life story - and some who would just pass me and say a polite hello. It felt good to know that there are people like Wendy and Ann out there, but I also could not help feeling slightly guilty that I've not helped - or realised that people needed help.

Wendy and Ann can be assured that their next donation will be in the post.