Cyrenians are hard at work across Edinburgh

Cyrenians are always active and busy as a charity in Edinburgh, but more so now than ever.

They have a variety of ways of carrying out their work with those experiencing homelessness or mental health issues. They have a farm out in West Lothian, a supported house in Leith, the Social Bite Village, their Cook School and Fareshare is a method of distributing surplus food from supermarkets.

Since the pandemic began Chief Executive, Ewan Aitken, explained that the fundamental thinking is to keep everyone safe from the virus. They have worked out ways of remote working, become familiar with video calling and technology. But they have also been able to continue delivering most if not all of their services.

Here he talks to us about how they are doing that – and what you can do to help.

Unsurprisingly the way to help is by donating on their JustGiving page here, but they also have a real need for professional chefs to offer their services to prepare meals. At present they are producing 600 meals and are dealing with 5 tons of food every day. So if that is you then get in touch with Ewan.