You’d think a Viking ship had tied up at the Bulwarks with a crew intent on rape and pillage

Over the past fortnight, since it became public knowledge that a refuge was to open in the High Street, I have been shocked, saddened and angered by expressions of blatant social prejudice.

The fine collection of historic homes, restaurants, shops, galleries and the farmers and crafts market held harbourside, make St Aubin one of the most attractive corners on this little rock for locals and visitors, so where better to give those most in need that all-important second chance?

If you are swayed by the more outlandish statements from vociferous residents as reported in the media or made at last week’s public meeting, you would think that a Viking long ship had tied up at the Bulwarks with a crew intent on murder, rape and pillage.

Far from it, the perceived ‘threat’ to the very fabric of the community is nothing more than a respectable Christian charity offering refuge to ten needy men at any one time.

What Colin Taylor of the Caring Hands Christian Charity is so admirably proposing, is neither a den of inequity nor a base for a terrorist suicide squad – or a hideaway for international criminals on the run from the FBI. It is simply a place where fractured souls can rest and be healed.

Mr Taylor is no Fagin, nor will his ‘guests’ gang together to embark on a crime spree or add to the level of drunkenness already common in St Aubin every weekend, or when a stag or hen party descends on the village.

In this so-called enlightened age, people really should think twice before making their opinions public, especially when opposition is tempered with support for the principle, as long as it happens in somebody else’s ‘back yard.’

Some of the comments attributed to residents were so offensive to anyone who believes in caring for others less fortunate than them, that I was left lost for words.

The refuge will not be inhabited by gangsters, as one resident opined, though this comment did bring some light relief to the situation by conjuring up images of the Godfather, Don Corleone, dining al fresco on the Bulwarks while inviting passers-by to ‘make him an offer he could not refuse’.

To those so vehemently opposed to locating a men’s refuge in St Aubin in case it upsets the residents or tourists where do they suggest it should be? Out of sight on the Ecréhous, as leper colonies were set up on isolated islands?

As for those who fear that opening a refuge opposite a pub may lead to temptation, with drinking establishments and off-licenses on almost every corner of our community, could someone please explain where else may be an appropriate location? Is it not part and parcel of kicking any life-threatening habit that the sufferer has to learn to live with the source of their addiction?

Mr Taylor is not proposing to open a refuge for chronic alcoholics and drug users but what if he was. Perhaps the residents against his plan would prefer he opened a sanctuary for distressed bankers facing the loss of massive bonuses or public school dropouts expelled for smoking a spiff after lights outs in the dorm?

What his refuge will offer is a helping hand for any man, no matter what his socio-economic status, who finds himself at rock bottom – whether he is a ‘dry’ alcoholic or a recovering drug addict or not.

In an Island of glaring social inequalities not everyone has the financial resources or emotional strength to cope with the break-up of a relationship, the death of a loved one, redundancy, debt or whatever hardship turns their lives upside down and inside out.

If the St Aubin refuge can help fathers renew contact with estranged children, prevent men from turning to drink and drugs or steer them back to the right track, then it will have done its job and served our society well – and at no cost to the public purse.

It takes a brave person to take a step across the threshold of a refuge or similar establishments as that simple everyday action immediately labels them as ‘social deviants’ in many people’s minds – and none more so than when in such a prominent and affluent location.

There are few among us who can honestly hold up a hand when asked if we have never needed help.

No matter how successful or confident a person may appear on the outside only he or she, and those close to them, know what happens when the public façade slips or what goes on behind closed doors.

It is so easy to reach for a bottle or a stimulant when wallowing in the depths of despair, feeling alone, unloved and with no reason to go on. Addictions, along with depression and mental illness, are only now being recognised and accepted for the serious illnesses they are, as worthy of the compassion shown for the sufferers of cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

It is a lucky person indeed who has not suffered misfortune at some point in life; we should not condemn nor shun them but rather do our best to help.

The people of St Aubin opposed to the refuge would do well to consider the words of the 16th century English martyr, John Bradford, – ‘there but for the grace of God, go I.’