Carol concert to mark charity's 40th anniversary

A charity supporting the homeless in Worcestershire is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a special carol concert.

Maggs Day Centre, which has hubs in Worcester, Malvern and Redditch, was founded on 21 December 1985 in tribute to John Maggs, a homeless man who died alone in Worcester in 1984.

To mark its 40th anniversary, Maggs will host a special Christmas carol service at All Saints Church, Worcester, on Sunday from 15:00 to 16:30 GMT, and is free for all to attend.

The charity said the concert would honour the charity's origins and the community that helped bring it to life.

John Maggs was born in 1940 and became homeless during the 1970s, the charity said.

He was found dead in in the basement of the derelict Fownes Glove Factory on City Walls Road.

Melissa Blewitt, the fundraising and communications manager at the charity, said: "[The concert] is meaningful because other community groups and organisations were very essential at the beginning of Maggs's story.

"Returning to All Saints for this service is incredibly meaningful for us. This church was there at the beginning of Maggs' story, when the community came together in response to John Maggs' death and chose compassion over indifference.

"Forty years later, the need is still great, but so is the generosity and determination of Worcester.

Rev Jamie Klair from All Saints Worcester, said: "Forty years on from that initial act of vision and compassion at All Saints Worcester in the wake of John Maggs' death, we are gathering with Maggs to celebrate all that has been done in Worcester and beyond.

"On Sunday, we are hosting these carols as a collective moment brimming with defiant hope."

Speaking about Mr Maggs, Ms Blewitt said: "He wasn't invisible, he very much had people who cared about him, but there simply wasn't the support available then that there is now.

"A lot of agencies came together before his death to say we need to do something for the homeless, and his death was the starting point that people say this has happened and we want to avoid this happening again."

Over the last year, Maggs Day Centre has supported hundreds of homeless people.

"Sadly John's experience isn't confined to the past, homelessness still exists and people still fall through the gaps, often because of trauma, poor mental health, addiction or lack of affordable housing," Ms Blewitt said.

"The reason Maggs still matters is because homelessness isn't just about housing it's about people and when community chooses compassion over indifference, real change is possible and we're lucky to be a part of that."

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