When you give to CENS, you’re not just donating money – you’re keeping someone warm, fed, and supported through some of the hardest days of their life.
We are a small, local charity run by a skeleton staff team and a handful of dedicated volunteers. That means every penny we receive goes directly into helping people who need it most. Your donation keeps our doors open day after day, 365 days a year.
The basics: food, warmth, and dignity
- Hot meals: A small donation can provide a resident with food. Our residents always start their day with a healthy breakfast and end it with a healthy home-cooked meal.
- Laundry services: Something as simple as clean clothes can restore dignity and confidence. Your gift helps us buy laundry tabs and keeps our washing machines running. With an average of 16 residents, you can imagine how much laundry we get through every day!
- Heating and electricity: Our bills rise just like yours do. Donations make sure we can keep the lights on and the heating running, offering a safe refuge on cold nights.

Support for those important next steps
The basics are only the first steps. Your generosity also helps us provide the longer-term support that breaks the cycle of homelessness:
- Counselling: Many people who arrive at CENS are dealing with trauma, addiction, or mental health issues. Donations help us fund sessions that give people a chance to heal.
- Education and skills training: From literacy support to job-readiness programmes, we help direct our residents to the support they need to build confidence and prepare for employment.
- One-to-one support: Our staff guide people through complex systems—housing applications, benefit claims, medical appointments—so they don’t have to face it all alone.
Why Every Penny Matters
Because we are a small charity, your donation doesn’t disappear into a vast system. It is felt immediately and directly: in the food we serve tonight, in the electricity that powers the kettle tomorrow morning for that first cup of tea, in the counselling session that helps someone believe in themselves again.
When you give to CENS, you are not just supporting a charity – you are standing alongside someone who needs to know that their community cares. Your kindness changes lives. Thank you for making every penny count.