Bcdp Drop-In

27/05/2026

My name is Patrick and next week is VOLUNTEERS WEEK.

It is very rewarding to see our clients’ surviving their problems in life which usually includes addiction, poverty, and homelessness. I have volunteered with BCDP for over 15 years and our clients and volunteers survive as one big family trying to help each other get better.

We feel elation such as when clients recover and volunteers gain work experience. But we suffer too when clients die or are attacked. The sessions are always different but safe and full of good conversations.

So, if you see BCDP asking for a volunteer I would happily recommend that you try us out.

24/05/2026

MW chatted and feels they have turned the corner. Some of us will pray. Some of us will wish them all the best. But everyone at BCDP hopes MW will make it.

19/05/2026

Did you know that you can access our website through our bio? Our website is a great source of general information and includes the answers to many questions you may have, so if you're interested, you can either click the link in our bio or use this one here:

Supporting Our Local Community Helping the Homeless in Barnsley Barnsley Churches Drop In Project is a charity and has been helping our clients for over 20 years ✓ Providing Essential Supplies ✓ Empowering Lives Through Donations ✓ Join Us in Making a Difference ★★★★★ The support fro...

18/05/2026

On Sunday our clients got caught in all those showers and some turned up drenched to the skin. However, we were prepared and were able to hand out 28 raincoats purchased with a donation from a local business. 36 clients braved the conditions to pick up their small bag of food and hot drink.

If you're hungry and thirsty, the bad weather isn't a barrier!

12/05/2026

Last month in April, we gave out 728 bags of food to our clients, which included 459 cheese sandwiches, 258 ham sandwiches, and 728 packets of crisps!
They drank 712 hot drinks between them, and we gave out 10 sleeping bags in total.

Although it seems spring has sprung, temperatures can still drop, so if you are able to donate any pairs of joggers, please get in touch.

10/05/2026

Trustee Statement - Part 3

The Barnsley Youth Choir have continued to support us and as well as little regular donations of food we were named as their Christmas charity and received a substantial financial donation via a bucket collection and members of their audience donated a considerable amount of new and nearly new clothing, toiletries and foodstuffs.

Our clients have benefitted recently from visiting Podiatrists caring for their feet under the banner ‘Forgotten Feet’. These ladies volunteer once a month and are able to support 10 clients at a session.

Our clients also benefitted again from the Darfield Library Ladies group knitting lovely neck warmers, and the Barnsley Knitters Group who knitted warm and cosy blankets.

Another development this year has been the posting of regular messages on our page: ‘Bcdp Drop-In’ and setting up a new website: ‘barnsleychurchesdropinproject.co.uk’. It is becoming an essential part of our set up as it is required by many funders as a way of promoting their Grant awards and it also informs the public or our work in the community.

A special mention must be given to Adie Flute who organises the Rucksack Project in Barnsley at Christmas time. In addition to the general Barnsley folk, Adie also involves the Barnsley FC. As a result of their combined efforts, the Barnsley folk and football fans donate a large quantity of foodstuffs, sleeping equipment, clothing, toiletries – and sometimes rucksacks. A second special mention has to be made for Hope House Church who continue to allow us to use part of the basement of their community building, free of charge, as a storage area.

BCDP would not be effective if it wasn’t for our individual supporters, our volunteers, some local businesses and charities who give grants. But really, we would rather that BCDP was not needed, that nobody required our services, that all our clients were fully supported by funded services and that fewer people fell into the life style of our clients.

Today, we would like to thank everyone for their continued support, for the time and effort from all our volunteers, and for the donations and prayers of our supporters.

Supporting Our Local Community Helping the Homeless in Barnsley Barnsley Churches Drop In Project is a charity and has been helping our clients for over 20 years ✓ Providing Essential Supplies ✓ Empowering Lives Through Donations ✓ Join Us in Making a Difference ★★★★★ The support fro...

04/05/2026

Trustee Statement - Part 2

Most of our food and catering equipment is purchased by the charity. But we do receive grants and donations from various sources.

We are very grateful to Morrisons in Barnsley for their regular donations; to Fletcher’s Bakery in Sheffield who supply all our bread - and treat us to muffins; to Royston Pentecostal Church who sort and supply us with clothing later in the year when our own supplies have been exhausted; to Barnsley College who at Christmas gave us many filled
rucksacks and who have also provided some cooked meals and regularly donate ready-to-eat food; and to the many members of the public who ring up and donate food and other items for the clients.

A brief mention about our financial affairs. Unfortunately, some of the larger financial donations from local businesses have dried up and so, moving forward, a lot of effort will have to be made to apply for suitable grant funding.

In October 2025, Premdor, agreed to support us with a large donation. We had to move quickly as the money had to be spent before Christmas. Their parent company is in America and so it was quite difficult to complete the Grant application, which also had to be in USA dollars. We were awarded a substantial amount and purchased a large quantity of clothing, toiletries and camping stuff for our clients. The award also covered a year’s rent and the costs of some catering equipment - and we completed the purchase in time (to be continued).

29/04/2026

Trustee Statement - Part 1

This year has again been calm, in comparison to the years before we moved back to St Mary’s Church. There has been very little trouble between the clients and no trouble with members of the public in and around St Mary’s Church. Again, it is very pleasing to be able to report this current state of affairs.

We continue to provide a small bag of ready-to-eat food, a hot drink and, if available, toiletries, a sleeping bag, sleeping mat, rucksack, tent and essential clothing.

We started the drop-in sessions at St Mary’s on Monday 19th February 2024 and the church people at St Mary’s have been very encouraging and supportive. We are open on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays between 7pm and 8pm. We do not open on Tuesdays or Saturdays.

We continue to offer advice, assistance and support to our clients, especially new clients and those who make contact with us by telephone. We do this, in the main, by referring clients to the appropriate services available in Barnsley.

We have a wonderful team of 18 volunteers and 2 reserves, who form teams of 4 for each evening. We support about 40 people each night, with the majority being single males. Usually, there are about 8 rough sleepers, 12 sofa surfers, and 15 others who may be on temporary accommodation licences. It is sad to report that during the last year we have been made aware of several clients passing away and it is quite likely that some, who we haven’t seen for a while, may also have passed away. But as we do not know that for certain there is always the hope that their absence is because they are coping well with their recovery (to be continued).

25/04/2026

Barnsley Churches Drop-In Project

Agenda for the Annual General Meeting
St Mary’s Church, Barnsley
Monday 11th May 2026 - 10.00am

1. Welcome
2. Apologies for non-attendance
3. Minutes of Annual General Meeting of 19th May 2025
4. Matters arising from the above minutes
5. Trustees’ Report 2025/2026
6. Treasurer’s Report and Presentation of Accounts for 2025/2026

7. Election of Members/ Trustees for Executive Committee
8. Election of Officers
9. AOB
10. Executive Committee Meeting to follow AGM

21/04/2026

Are you interested in finding out what we've been up to in the last 12 months? On Monday the 11th of May, at 10am, we will be holding the Annual General Meeting at Saint Mary’s Church. If you are interested, please be aware that booking is essential, so feel free to contact us to recieve the documents.