Queen Camilla donates bookshelf to homelessness charity which touts benefit of reading while getting back on feet
Reading can help get homeless people “back on their feet”, television host Lorraine Kelly has said as she welcomed the Queen to a shelter in south London.
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Ms Kelly, a self-professed avid reader of books, said “marrying” reading with the work of homelessness charities such as St Mungo’s could help people sleeping rough gain opportunities through education.
Speaking to reporters after Camilla delivered 20 personally selected books to St Mungo’s through its partnership with The Queen’s Reading Room charity, the Scottish television presenter said: “I love reading, and this initiative is so fantastic.
“To combine two things I’m very passionate about, which is helping people who are homeless and getting people reading, the two just marry together so well.”
Ms Kelly, a friend of St Mungo’s, added: “To have the Queen here has made all the difference in the world, it got everyone excited, got everyone enthused.
“She’s genuinely passionate about it, she genuinely cares and knows her stuff, it was an absolute delight to have her here.”
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Camilla greeted residents, trustees and support workers, before being given a radish from the shelter’s garden and a book on spirituality self-published by a resident.
The Queen placed 20 books including Wuthering Heights, The Queen’s Necklace and I Capture the Castle on a royally supplied bookshelf as part of The Queen’s Reading Room’s (QRR) partnership the charity.
Speaking in the activities room at St Mungo’s accommodation in south London, Camilla told residents reading “is a wonderful way of escapism and taking [people] out of their lives and into another one”.
St Mungo’s service in south London accommodates 38 people and is one of the charity’s 138 services that supports people experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness.
Lee, a former resident who now lives independently and comes back to volunteer at St Mungo’s, had an “emotional” conversation with the Queen.
After the Queen had left, he told reporters “having a book when you’re homeless is an escape, like an oasis from the situation”.
Jessie Kaur, a support worker who has been with St Mungo’s for seven years, told reporters: “Books really help clients in their recovery journey from homelessness, it’s a form of escapism, of healing from traumas they may have experienced.
“It provides the clients with a safe space. The support from QRR is amazing, because sometimes we’re not able to afford to buy books from our service.
“Sometimes clients’ ability to read improves, so we’re really grateful for the support and meeting the Queen.”