An Irish restaurant will open
its doors on December 25 to help those who are homeless and in emergency
accommodation celebrate Christmas with a three-course meal and festive
celebrations.
Blazin Grill in the suburb of Tallaght, Dublin has been working
with Focus Ireland to invite families within emergency accommodation to their
festive dinner.
The homeless charity has
said there are 115,000 parents and children without homes this Christmas and
there has been a near doubling of the number of children in emergency
accommodation like hostels and hotels.
Manager Christian Murdoch,
who also volunteers with St Vincent de Paul, has said the restaurant want to
ensure that those who are invited get to experience a proper Christmas.
"When they come in,
there won't be people fussing over them. It will be quite relaxed. We want to
make it as enjoyable as possible for all who'll make it down. As long as they
feel comfortable and normal, we're happy."
The staff will provide a
three-course meal on the day, including a soup starter; a main course of
turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, vegetables and gravy; followed by apple pie
dessert for the adults and chocolate brownies for the children - as well as
puddings to take home.
"Transport has been
organised so once the guests arrive and are settled, we'll serve the starter
and after the main course we'll be screening a Christmas movie that everyone
can enjoy with their dessert. We'll also have a little stand with sweets and
snacks for the children," said Christian.
Thanks to the support of
local businesses, everyone on the day will go home with a hamper, as well as
goody bags for each adult and child.
"We're stuffing the
goody bags with fun things, not stuff that reminds people they're homeless...
we want to give them things that they'd not normally pick up for themselves.
Something special for the day. We've been given so many gifts that we might put
some of them on a stand so people can help themselves."
Christian has been working
closely with assistant manager Tanya McCabe and owners Lee and Stephen McCabe
for the past four months to get everything in order but said that the
willingness of the entire team to take part has been a big reminder of what
Christmas is all about.
"We've had the
privilege of having December 24, 25 and 26 off in the past but this year
everyone has jumped on board to be here on Christmas Day. You know, the easiest
part was getting the staff involved. A lot of them have been here a couple of
years and there's a great team spirit.
"We know that everyone
has things to do, families they want to see on the day, people returning home
from abroad... but the staff were behind the plans all the way," said
Christian.
"It's more than that
though, it's the community spirit. It's only when things like this take place
that you realise how strong the spirit of a community can be."
One of the hardest parts of
planning is ensuring that those invited will make it down on the day.
"We want those on the
streets to know that there are people out there thinking about them," said
Christian.
"It's hard for people
who are homeless to make plans, especially if they're living day-to-day. They
may not know what they're doing tomorrow or the next but we want them to know
that there's a meal here for them.
"We don't want to see
people out on the streets on Christmas Day. It's awful at any time of the year
but especially at Christmas. We've given them an invitation and we can only
hope that they can accept it."
The Belgard Square-based
eatery has a 95-seater capacity and already they've made 50 bookings for the
day.
"It's not an easy task
but we're hoping on the day when they do come down it will all be worthwhile
and I'm sure it will. It will be a great day."
Source: www.independent.ie
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