Cold winds shake me to my core, but the ice cold stares chill me more…

Faceless crowds pass by, oblivious to their surroundings. The hustle and bustle of the busy town centre never ceases, yet still the silence is deafening and like zombies with cold, dead hearts and minds; we ignore what’s really going on around us. This is a story of truth, one of hope but burdened by a heavy heart.

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…There was once a prince and a princess. They were graced with prosperity and good fortune. However, this is no fairytale. This isn’t some unknown land so far away where only our imagination can whisk us off to. We have all done too much daydreaming for now; but this is our towns, our cities. This is our country. Plagued by an ever increasing level of homelessness, the disease is our ignorance. 

We all desperately long to be heard, to be seen. Not just for whom we appear to be, but for the person we are inside. Many of us feel neglected from our own social circles, yet we are so quick to turn others away. Isolated in a prison of our own creation, our castles are our pride. Standing tall; a picturesque beauty for the world to gaze upon, but on the inside our walls are corroding away, foundations diminished. Moral solidarity fades, and all hope appears to be lost. 

There is no big bad wolf, nor a wicked witch; not even a hero to charge in and save the day. All that remains are the demons we have each faced in our lives. Help and hope have long stopped shining their ray of light upon us. Until one day there was…

AKT is a ray of light in an exceptionally dark world.

The deafening silence was broken and the cold shivers were met with warmth like no other. No longer were people turned away. Many were heard for the first time, creating a sanctuary for all those who have been lost or cast out from the usual bounds of society. The Albert Kennedy Trust is a community of its own, creating a shelter to all those who really need it. 

For many people, they had nowhere to go. No place to call home, no ruby red slippers to take them there. After all this isn’t the wizard of oz and we can’t all be Dorothy. AKT is the fairy godmother we spent our childhoods dreaming about, turning pumpkins into carriages, rags into a beautiful gown just so Cinderella could make it to the ball. As I said this isn’t a fairytale but the magic they work is real. Hopelessness into hope, homelessness into homes… day after day, week after week. The opportunities they have to offer are endless and the encouragement and support AKT are able to give to their clients is immense. Gradually building their confidence and rebuilding their castles.

For all those that have been broken or afraid, AKT helped them rise from the ashes; the flames that once engulfed their lives and caused destruction have become the fire within their souls. This is no fairytale, but for the first time, because of the Albert Kennedy Trust; many people are no longer Homeless forever after...

Claire