Sister Sabina helping the city's homeless at the Fireside Centre
Oct 30 2009 by William Oliphant, Birmingham Post
A nun who is still helping the homeless of Birmingham at the age of 80 has been awarded the MBE. Will Oliphant reports on the good work of Sister Sabina Staff of the Sifa Fireside Centre in Selly Park
The word nun doesn’t instantly spring to mind upon meeting sister Sabina as she answers a mobile phone and talks about her support for Birmingham City, but it’s easy to see why she is popular with both volunteers, staff and clients at the Fireside Centre.
Eschewing the traditional habit of a nun and describing herself as a “true Brummie”, her friendly manner and generous nature have made her a hit with the people she helps.
She was one of the founders of the centre in Pershore Street when it was first set up by The Sisters of Charity of St Paul the Apostle in 1994 after retiring from a long career as a headteacher, and she says she’s never looked back.
“I love the job,” she says. “I love the homeless people and I love working with them. I really do. Sometimes people have a job but they don’t love it, which is sad but I think it’s really important that you love your work.”
Born in West Limerick, Ireland, Sister Sabina says she finds it hard to explain why she became a nun when she was young.
“I had a busy social life and we had a comfortable background, but I always liked helping people less fortunate than me,” she says. “When I started it I didn’t know that it was what I was always going to do. You try a job for a while, you’re not obliged to do it for your whole life, but I enjoyed it.”
After gaining teaching qualifications in Ireland she came to Birmingham and joined her convent in Selly Park – where she says they are known affectionately as the Selly Park nuns.
She then took up a teaching post in Northfield before moving on to become headteacher of the Corpus Christie school in Coventry – a position she held from 1951 until 1992.
When she left teaching she took up work with the homeless after a short period in Canterbury on a theological course. That was when the Fireside Centre was set up.
“We wanted to find somewhere in the city centre that homeless people could come to.
“At the time there wasn’t really anywhere they could go during the day for a hot meal and to sit down for a while. We found an empty warehouse in Pershore Street, a former fireplace warehouse, and transformed it into the centre it is now.”
Since then Sister Sabina – along with volunteers – have helped thousands of people by giving them meals and clothes as well as counselling and advice on a range of matters.
Two years ago the centre merged with the nearby Sifa Centre which helps people with drug and alcohol problems. Now roughly 30,000 people a year walk through their doors.
But Sister Sabina is unwilling to take much of the credit for the word done. She says she would be unable to do anything without chief executive Cath Gilliver and the team of about 70 volunteers who work every day at the centre.
“The MBE is a reflection of everyone’s hard work here. I don’t want people to think that I’m doing all the work. All the staff here are so good, they work so hard and they’re such lovely people.”
But she says she was thrilled to meet the queen when she went to pick up her MBE. “It was spectacular,” she says. “Buckingham Palace was so beautiful and they took such good care of us. I spoke to the Queen and she asked me about the centre and how many homeless people we care for and what we do. It was lovely.”
And Sister Sabina has vowed to carry on with her work for as long as she is physically able.
“As long as I can do it I’ll continue doing it because I love it,” she says. “Unless they stop me then I’ll still be here.”
To volunteer at the Sifa Fireside Centre visit www.sifafireside.co.uk or drop into the centre in Pershore Street.
The centre is also grateful for donations of food, money or clothing. For more information call 0121 666 7023.
