Established 2005 Registered Charity No. 1110656

Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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"How are you?"

November 01 2020
Daniela Sbrisny works at Margins in – and outside – the Union Chapel © The Margins Project Daniela Sbrisny works at Margins in – and outside – the Union Chapel © The Margins Project

Thoughts from Services Manager Daniela Sbrisny meeting newcomers and familiar faces at the Margins drop-in

I’m non-judgmental. Lockdown has thrown us all into a very uncertain sphere. It may essentially be over but it will have repercussions on a lot of us for a long time to come. We have seen a steady flow of new faces at our drop-in during this period and I fear this will remain the case for now. When people initially utilise our services, their reason for coming may not be apparent to us, so it is important to have constructive and encouraging conversations around what we can offer and what support we are able to give. We try to be honest and signpost where necessary, and manage our workload. Trust is created by being non-judgemental and remaining open in order to listen to the ways in which people express themselves and the needs they may have.

Taking the time to have conversations is also key to forming an understanding of a person or situation. We want to facilitate positive conversations to be translated into positive steps to be taken and are mindful of the individual in the process.
Our project aims to strengthen resilience, independence and confidence and provide a platform for hope, to inspire and scaffold people on their forward-going journey. This echoes our ethos and strength-based support approach, in which we focus on positive attributes and skills.

We have just started producing a magazine written by the people we see at our project. I would very much like for this to be an inclusive tool that people can draw from and hopefully be invigorated by – just like the Pavement.

  • The Margins Project is at Union Chapel, Compton Terrace, Islington, London, N1 2UN. It is open for drop-ins on Mon and Wed between 11am-2pm. It provides hot meals (at the moment), showers, laundry and computer access to people who find themselves in crisis.
  • See the List in the centre pages for more places to shower.
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