Mayor joins Trinity Winchester to serve meals, spotlight charity’s 40th year

Winchester’s mayor rolled up his sleeves Tuesday to help feed and listen to those relying on one of the city’s most enduring charities. Mayor Cllr Sudhakar Achwal and Mayoress Vivian Achwal spent the afternoon at Trinity Winchester, a Bradbury House-based refuge that provides hot meals, counselling and long-term support to people facing homelessness and social exclusion.

The mayor and mayoress moved through the dining hall, ladling soup and refilling bread baskets before gathering with service users to hear their stories. Trinity’s chief executive confirmed the visit underscored the charity’s ongoing need for public support as demand rises.

Trinity was founded in 1986 as a volunteer-run drop-in centre at Holy Trinity Church, later relocating to the Cathedral grounds before settling at Bradbury House in 2012. Today it runs 12 studio flats for people rebuilding lives and offers daily services including showers, laundry, job advice and one-to-one counselling. Annual events such as the June Big Sleep Out raise funds for these programmes.

Achwal said after the meal, “Trinity doesn’t just feed bodies—it feeds hope. Everyone who walks through the door is met with dignity and real help.” The charity now supports more than 800 people a year across Winchester, a figure that has climbed steadily since the cost-of-living crisis began in 2021.

The mayor’s visit came less than a week after Hampshire County Council approved an additional £250,000 in emergency funding for local homelessness charities, part of a £1.8 million winter package announced in October. Trinity confirmed it will use the grant to extend its evening meal service from four to six days a week starting in July.

Trinity Winchester continues to rely on donations, with urgent appeals for warm clothing and sleeping bags ahead of its June Big Sleep Out fundraiser. Donors can drop items at Bradbury House reception or use the charity’s online giving portal. The event itself will see volunteers spend a night outside in solidarity with those without shelter, a tradition that has raised over £200,000 in the past five years.