Day 147: Praying for those affected by flooding (2020)

Join with Salvationists of the Wales Division for day 147 of 150 days of prayer.

• 'Offer a song to the Lord, to thank him for what he has done. Make music with a harp to praise our God' (Psalm 147:7, EasyEnglish Bible).

2020

Community Support Worker Donna Sass (Pentre) writes:

‘On 15 February 2020, Storm Dennis hit the South Wales valleys. There was significant rainfall and problems with several culverts in the Pentre area. This resulted in some of the streets behind Pentre Corps being flooded in the early hours of Sunday 16 February. One of the local councillors was a member of Pentre Corps and asked for support from the corps folk on the Sunday afternoon. Several corps members went to the hall and made sandwiches and filled flasks with hot water to make tea and coffee. They walked down to the streets with the refreshments and bottled water, as vehicles were unable to get to the affected areas.

‘In the days which followed, the corps hall became a centre for donations of clothes and household items to support those impacted by the floods. Corps folk continued visiting the streets with further refreshments and helped to clean up some of the houses. Further flooding occurred later that week, with additional streets being affected. This resulted in the divisional Salvation Army response vehicle coming up to Pentre to support the emergency services and the corps.’ 

Service Manager Natasha Alexander (Crichton House) writes:

‘Prior to the pandemic, we ran the Bus Project to support rough sleepers. A double-decker bus travelled to a fixed location at a set time five evenings a week providing food, drinks, advice and support and allocating emergency bed spaces for the night. Large crowds were would congregate on the bus in a confined space, which was unsafe during the pandemic. 

‘In March 2020 we changed our way of working by starting an Assertive Outreach Service/ Support Workers walked around the city centre and drove to other areas to engage with rough sleepers to provide food, drinks, advice and support. This also allowed staff to engage with those who preferred or needed to avoid the crowds of people at the Bus Project. It also allowed more time to talk to individuals and allowed for more confidential conversations. Post-pandemic, the Assertive Outreach Service has expanded to seven evenings a week and has supported 1,300 rough sleepers in the past year.’

Prayer

• Living among the hills and valleys of Wales does at times mean that there is flooding. Pray that where we are able, we will respond to help those who are affected.
• Pray for the Assertive Outreach Service to rough sleepers in Cardiff.