Remarkable story of Shrewsbury hotel that took in homeless recorded in journalist's book
A journalist who normally spends her time in war zones has published a book about the time she spent living with homeless people in a Shrewsbury hotel.
Christina Lamb, the chief foreign correspondent with the Sunday Times, moved into the four star Prince Rupert Hotel which had opened its doors to homeless people during the height of lockdown.
Now the journalist, who has just returned to the UK from Ukraine, has published The Prince Rupert Hotel for the Homeless: A True Story of Love and Compassion Amid a Pandemic.
"I had never been to Shrewsbury before but I loved it," she said. "I think it is England's best kept secret. I loved wandering around the narrow streets.
"I was blown away by what they did at the Prince Rupert, during what was a very scary time."
When the pandemic hit and travel became restricted she started reporting on the UK.
The hotel donated its rooms, complete with four poster beds, for homeless people after the Government launched its strategy to get everyone off the streets during the pandemic.
The hotel owners and rough sleepers, many of whom had been out of housing for decades, spent months locked in together and ended up transforming one another’s lives. Christina stayed with them.
"We saw the worst of things and the best of things," said Christina who is doing a round of high profile interviews about the book and her experiences.
Speaking of the emergence of volunteers to help the NHS and the vaccination programme, she said the hotel opening its doors was "a really shining example of that kind of compassion."
The book gives many examples of the experiences of homeless people, including being treated as guests in the Grade II listed historic building in Butcher Row.
"They were given nice food and cared for," she said, adding that many of the people had difficult addictions and life stories, and had survived so much.
"One man was kicked out of home at the age of 12. I think that made them think differently about the homeless," she added.
"But everybody has a story, and homeless people are used to people walking past them, ignoring them or even spitting and kicking them. But the hotel became almost like a family, everyone had someone to talk to and a support network."
She said one message from the book is for people not to just walk past homeless people. "Don't think that these people have nothing to do with society."
But she added that she was not saying that people should give them money in the street, but instead to donate to organisations like the Shrewsbury Ark.
The Prince Rupert Hotel for the Homeless: A True Story of Love and Compassion Amid a Pandemic is published today (June 9) by HarperCollins at £20.
