First visitor to All Saints Church Community Centre

…then the Open Door Centre in 1972

The doors of the church burst open, and a woman staggered in wearing a housecoat, with her face dripping blood, her feet pain. She was actually suffering from terminal cancer and in much pain following an operation. [The staff] were able to find her a coat, and another room to live in, for her apartment was not much larger than a good-sized cupboard and she had only a mattress, not a proper bed. They assisted her to move, carrying all her worldly possessions in three bags. This woman became a regular visitor to the Drop-In. It was the only place she could come to for companionship, and help. She credited the Open Door with saving her life. The last time she came to us she was very ill; when she passed out from the pain, the [staff] called an ambulance; she died two or three days later in hospital.