About – Our History
About Us | Our Mission Statement | Our Team
“In as much as you did it to the least of these you did it unto me” said Jesus
. Matt25:40
Crossover started in 1997 and marks today over 19 years of work amongst the disadvantaged and homeless of Brighton and Hove by providing food and practical support where feasible. We’d love for you to partner with us in reaching those who are vulnerable and in doing so, enable us to continue responding to the call.
The work was birthed out of Citycoast Trust in Portslade and some 10 years ago was further developed by Project Co-ordinators David and Linda Bolton who have previously initiated work projects and a community Charity shop which is still successfully running under separate management and is called Second Chance. Crossover is now entirely independent and has it’s own formal Charitable status (numbered 1153475) formed in August 2013.
2010 saw exciting developments for Crossover with the rebirth of St. Peter’s Church in York Place, Brighton right in the heart of the City. An opportunity arose for the already existing Crossover Street feeding programme to relocate it’s venue from the streets and into the Church’s Hall.
A joint feeding project named Safehaven was soon developed early on in 2010 and was manned by a substantial group of volunteers resourced not only from Crossover but also St Peters Church and One Church. This initiative is still operating as a St Peters Church Project during University term times and the venue is now in a warm carpeted Church! Many volunteers are University students and because of this Safehaven can only effectively operate during the school/University terms.
Crossover r
ecognised a gap in services to those who are homeless on our streets all year-round and so we stepped in to fill the gap. With a much smaller group of volunteers Crossover Brighton pulls upon its many years of experience. We step back in to feed the guests with our catering van in St Peters Church car park with a project called S.A.S. – Saturday at Six!
Early in 2014, w
e recognised another gap – weekend breakfasts! Statutory services provide support during the week but there is not breakfast provision at the weekend. Crossover trialled Saturday morning breakfasts with our catering van. this was an immediate success so we extended the service to include Sundays! Currently, we serve cooked breakfasts to between 30 and 50 guests each day 52 weeks a year.
Some volunteer opportunities are available see our Volunteering and Contact page.
Mobile: 01444 440229
Email: Crossover@holmsted.org.uk