Making That Connection

One Aldwych takes an active part in the local area

Not everyone gets to sleep in their home every night. In fact, any home. Any night. These are the people who have slipped through the net of support that we all deserve to experience and enjoy. And as you might expect in a city as big as London, there are rough-sleepers, particularly in the busy heart of the Westminster area.

As part of St Martin-in-the-Fields, a parish church at the corner of Trafalgar Square, The Connection is a charity that is practical, proactive and passionate in its aim to address and lift the burden of homelessness.

The reasons for homelessness are varied and heart-breaking. The need for assistance is acute. The road back to a settled, safe existence, rarely straightforward. But The Connection is an empathetic, empowering charity that goes to the heart of the problem by approaching it from all angles.It offers hot meals, laundry, showers and GP and podiatry appointments.It pursues goals that include finding long-term accommodation and employment. It helps to find a way out of addiction. A way forward in gaining confidence. Even investing in the joy of creativity, an enriching aspect of life that falls by the wayside on the streets.

As an independent hotel, One Aldwych takes an active part in the local area,from engaging with the theatres and museums on our doorstep to maintaining the beehives on our roof. This is why our Executive Chef, Dominic Teague, is committed to using his knowledge of – and access to – healthy ingredients for the good of all.

Dominic donates food from the kitchens to help the chefs at The Connection care for others. There’s also plan bubbling to provide cooking lessons for visitors to the centre. Perhaps these new skills will contribute to a future in the catering industry? Most importantly, access to warm, wholesome food forms the very basis of a better life.

The Connection and One Aldwych have made this meaningful connection. Long may that link of love continue.