John first came to The Connection in 2010, and this is his story:

I was easy-going, happy, had a lot of friends. Had a life. But that disappeared. Everything I had, knew, owned, disappeared. I didn’t know where to turn. And the friends I had - friends are always friends when you are in a good position. When you are in a bad position your friends are very few.

I found friends here, I found people for whom I’m no relation but they go out of their way to see I’m ok.  As we speak I have family members 5 miles from here. They know my situation. Are they doing anything to help? No.

These guys here have been MY family. And If I were to land the biggest job and get the biggest house I would give back hundreds-fold. These people are family to me now.

I got my place to live through them; I got my job placement through The Connection. They’ve given me everything I need to get this job. Even basic things like a suit and a pair of shoes for interviews. It’s all from here. So, in effect, everything I am today is because of this place.

Since 2010 I didn’t exist, 2010 – 2011 I was a no-one to everyone. These guys have been everything for me. I’m trying to get to the position where I can come back here and (say) you know what, ‘What can I do for you now?’ Honestly I don’t see myself leaving this place. I’ll always come back and say ‘What’s there to do? How can I help?’ But if I can do that, at least some of my demons will go away and at least I’ll go back to being the person I used to be and the person I used to like being.  

So I’m a work in progress basically, if that makes sense to you?

My Dad always took photos of us and I never understood why. But now when I look at those photos I sometimes know why he did it. Because it’s a way of capturing moments that you can’t have again.

Photography has always been something I used to do and when Sophie (at The Connection) said do you want to come and join us I said 'Yes'. Why not? Again it’s something they have given me that I used to be.

I love different people giving me their ideas and telling me that’s a nice picture. To me it’s just like I’m doing the things I used to do, I’m going back to being how I used to be. It might not mean anything else to them or to anyone else. But when I go back to my room I say ‘I like myself today’ – I’m not angry, I’m not hurt, I’m not angry at the world. But I’m going back to how I used to be.

View John's gallery of photos here

The Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal launches on Sunday, 1st December

Hear how last year's appeal helped Helen furnish a home and David's relationship with his daughter.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites 

Last night I slept outside.

As soon as I was instituted as vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square six months ago, this was something I knew I needed to do. St Martin’s has shaped its life around people with nowhere to turn since the First World War, when it gave shelter to soldiers toing and froing from the front via Charing Cross. If I was going to speak publicly about these issues I needed to know what sleeping outside felt like.

Of course I had precisely what most people in this situation don’t have – a network. Two people who often sleep outside took me under their wing. We went out at 8 p.m. We quickly headed for locations where food is hard to come by. Then my companions took me on a scavenger hunt. We called in some favours: a muffin from this coffee bar, hot water from that burger joint, a chocolate bar from an off-licence where one of my friends has offered an unofficial protection service now and again. We sourced flattened cardboard boxes from the streets and newspapers from the stands to soften our bedding. It turned out another shopkeeper and hotelier habitually stored a sleeping bag or two in return for gifts in kind.

The night began around 11, after a few cigarettes and story time. My companions found a dry, windless garage outlet. But I didn’t sleep much. Every few seconds a car raced by or a shout or step announced that a (usually drunken) body was heading our way. One man even fell on top of me he was so loaded. Random, reckless violence filled the imagination, and inhibited sleep. Only at 3.30 a.m. did things settle down.

My companions showed me how to live – not just outside, but anywhere: with no self-pity, plenty of wit, and incredible resilience. Next time they get in trouble, I doubt they’ll come to me. But next time I get in trouble, I’ll most likely go to them.

Listen to the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal and Donate now

Watch our slideshows telling the story of homelessness

Listen to Radio 4's Sunday programme

Anita Anand is used to taking calls from the audience on Any Answers? On Sunday she will be taking some of the thousands of calls we expect from listeners keen to donate to our Christmas Appeal. 

She will joined by some of Radio 4's best known voices taking shifts with the phone team at St Martin-in-the-Fields on Trafalgar Square.

Jane Garvey will be there, along with Felicity Finch (Ruth in The Archers), Paul Lewis of Money Box, Quentin Cooper of Material World and World Affairs Correspondent Mike Wooldridge.

Producers and managers and other behind-the-scenes members of the extended Radio 4 family will be there too. 

It's a big moment in our calendar and an important part of the Christmas season for huge numbers of the audience, many of whom have given every year for decades. This is the 86th time we have broadcast the appeal on behalf of homeless and vulnerable people in London and all over the UK. 

The need is as great as ever, as I saw for myself when I joined the outreach team recently on the streets of Westminster. In the doorways of jewellery shops and 5-star hotels we found bodies huddled in sleeping bags or on layers of cardboard, people who had slipped through the carpeted floor of mainstream life into a netherworld of cold, hunger, illness and danger. 

The team from St Martin's knew where to find them, knew many of them by name.  By the end of the night they had persuaded half a dozen to come into a hostel, to accept a meal, a wash, a bed, medical attention, the beginning of a long road back.  This work goes on every night of every week in London and in cities all over the country, helping vulnerable people at moments of great crisis, helping lost people find their way again.

Denis Nowlan is the Network Manager for Radio 4

Donate to the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal.

Watch our slideshows about the realities of homelessness.

Follow Radio 4 on Facebook and Twitter.

We are fortunate enough to have somewhere to live, which is one of the reasons why we support the St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal by making and selling Christmas puddings. When we were trying to decide which good cause to support with our Christmas pudding business a few years ago there just seemed to be something very appropriate about using the money raised by the sale of good Christmas food to help those who have so little to enjoy at Christmas.

So, it all kicks off in September, when we bulk buy pudding basins, sacks of sugar, dried fruit and vegetable suet, and what checkout people in the supermarkets obviously think (but don't ever say) is an excessive number of bottles of brandy!

Then aprons are donned and the weighing, mixing (all done by hand!) and cooking begins. The puddings are made in batches of five, ten or twenty - depending on size - and the work surface is usually home to puddings in a variety of stages: the mixture steeping in the mixing bowl, puddings waiting to be cooked, puddings cooling, puddings waiting to be wrapped. As the numbers build up (and we make between 250 and 300 each year) one or two of the bedrooms are gradually taken over with boxes and puddings - good use of empty rooms with children away at university, but it does create difficulties when we have visitors!

Orders start coming in before we have even started making puddings, mostly via a network of family, friends and colleagues, some of whom act as (very successful) agents, getting in more orders. We also sell the puddings locally in a wholefood shop, and at church and school events. But puddings have been taken far and wide, getting to Europe, Australia, and North and South America, and this year a very tiny pudding is going trekking in Nepal!

Over the years we have raised over £4500 for the Appeal, so by the time we hang up our aprons this year (probably not until the weekend before Christmas since there are always a few last minute orders) we should easily top £5000. We love making puddings (which is a good thing!) and we like to think that the money we raise makes a bit of difference to some people whose lives have not been as easy as ours.

Catherine and Susanna Jamieson raise money for the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal. Many thanks to Catherine and Susanna from Radio 4!

Listen to the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal and donate online.

Hear Phillip's story of homelessness in our audio slideshows.

Follow Radio 4 on Twitter and Facebook.

Sam Renke presents this week's appeal for the Brittle Bone Society

The Radio 4 Appeal has got off to a flying start in 2012. The first four charities of the New Year have together raised over £50,000.

So I just wanted to say a big thank you to our listeners.

I also wanted to share the feedback from the charities. National Nightline wrote "We're really overwhelmed by the support". African Initiatives said: "The appeal has exceeded our expectations, it really does mean so much to our small charity that so many people have given money to support the life changing work that we do."

Joss Ackland's wife died of Motor Neurone Disease and he made a very heartfelt appeal for the MND Association, donations ranged from £3 to £1000. The Bishop Simeon Trust told me that it was: "a real boost - to know that other people are supporting your work."

This week's appeal is for the Brittle Bone Society and it is presented by one of their trustees: Sam Renke. I know that it is very important to her that through this appeal she can be a voice for the other members of the Brittle Bone Society.

"One of the most amazing experiences I have had with the charity was attending our first youth event VOICE in 2010. This conference enabled me to exchange experiences of living with the condition of OI with people from across the UK. It was the first time in my life that I felt one hundred percent comfortable in my own skin, surrounded by people who understood me completely without prejudice or judgment. I came away from the event with a whole new array of knowledge about OI - Brittle Bones and how others cope on a day-to-day basis. The people I met were determined and inspirational in their own way, meeting them encouraged me to have more drive and to truly believe that anything is possible regardless of disability."

Thank you for your continued support.

Sally Flatman is the BBC Radio 4 Appeals producer

• 'Like' the Radio 4 Appeal on Facebook to get updates
• You can listen to previous and the current appeals on the Radio 4 Appeal website where you can also donate to the current appeal using a credit, debit of CAF card.

Alison, one of the many volunteers who work on the Christmas Appeal

"A gift from one lucky person to one who's less fortunate this year" - A quote from a donor to the Christmas Appeal

Thank You to everyone who has donated to this year's Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal. As the Christmas decorations come down on this 12th night we'd like to share with you the fantastic news that the appeal has broken new records and to date stands at £1,523,000.

Sophie Balaam from the Connection at St Martins went to meet the team of volunteers who work away each day opening all the post that has been sent:

"There are 6 volunteers and they are all working like busy bees, the scene reminded me of Santa's Grotto! But instead of presents there are boxes and boxes full of post. There are piles of cheques being counted and hundreds of Christmas cards from donors which brighten up the room.

You might think this is a tedious job. The volunteers have been working every day since the appeal launched on the first weekend in December. But a couple of the ladies I spoke to said how much they enjoyed opening the post because lots of people include hand written notes, or letters, and many of the donations come with Christmas cards.

The generosity of those that donate is incredibly humbling - especially during these financially difficult times - in fact the average donation is £50 and Alison, one of the volunteers, said it's not unusual for people to give £200. And there is still plenty of post to open!

I want to thank everyone that has donated so far. You really are making a big difference to the appeal. And another thank you to our volunteers - keep up the good work!"

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• More about the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal and the donation page
• On the blog: A day with the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal

If you phone us to give a donation on Sunday - we promise we won't play you music whilst you wait to give! You will hear Libby Purves giving you some facts and figures about why your donation is so crucial.

You may hear the bells of St Martins - each year we set up a call centre manned by volunteers, in the church offices - just alongside the church. Or you might go through to one of our volunteers in Belfast - organised by our colleagues at Capita. We'll be keeping them going all day with copious amounts of tea, coffee and cake. (This Radio producer feels that cake is always the solution!)

Work by the homeless photography and writing group at St Martins

It has been a busy week. On Monday we put up an exhibition of work by the homeless photography and writing group on the railings of St Martins. It has been great to watch people stopping to read the boards.

David a former homeless client found he was suddenly greeted by a group of school children who had recognised him from the photographs! Making the words and pictures of homeless people 'visible' is for me the real power of this work. You can also get a taste of these pictures thanks to a slideshow made for us by the BBC magazine Ariel.

On Wednesday the Connection will open their doors to the public so if you are around London that day and would like to see at first hand the place you have heard about over the years - do drop by. Libby Purves will be opening "Behind Closed Doors" at 1pm. The centre will be open through till 6pm with an art exhibition, music, food and refreshments and a chance to see at first hand how the centre works.

I think if you ask most of us to picture a homeless person what may come to mind is someone lying in a doorway... not a young woman staring into brightly lit shop windows thinking that if she could just step through that door, that glass, she could be back in the world with everyone else.

I made this slideshow with an artist Betsy Dadd - she said that the power of the photographs taken by homeless people was for her that we were not just presenting a caricature of what it is like to be homeless.

The homeless person has taken the pictures, thought what they want to say - told their story. The slideshow hopefully helps to make the invisible visible.

So thank you to everyone who has given in the past and if you are new to this appeal - welcome to a charity that has been going for 85 years, some of our donors started giving when they were children and are now in their eighties - you're in good company.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• The Radio 4 Christmas Appeal begins on Sunday morning at 7.55am. Make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Read Ariel: BBC Radio 4 helps homeless appeal for 85th year
• Pictures by The Connection's photography group are on Flickr.

Editor's note. We've published several photographs from the homeless photographers group at St Martin-in-the-Fields since the Christmas Appeal started. This snowy scene by Blodeuwed really emphasises how hard this Winter has been for homeless people. If you haven't made a donation yet, you can do so on the Radio 4 web site - SB.

One million pounds for the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal. Yes, you read that right: one million pounds for the Christmas Appeal and we are still pinching ourselves!

Last year we reached almost £900,000 - that was remarkable but we know that appeals don't have a right to increase year-on-year and life is tough for many people at the moment.

Gwyneth Williams, Controller of Radio 4 says:

This is a wonderful result, particularly given the difficult economic times. Evidence, once again, of the generous kindness of Radio 4 listeners and the importance of the work being done at St Martin-in-the-Fields for vulnerable people in London and across the UK.

The one million is, of course, made up of many thousands of donations - including one gift of £2 given by someone who is currently homeless.

This appeal clearly has a very special place in the hearts of many of you - we know that, not just because we've reached a million pounds but also because of the letters you've sent in with your donations. One lady sent a cheque and said she had been giving 'ever since Dick Sheppard', the first vicar of St Martin's to give a Christmas Appeal.

Rev Nick Holtam with the pot of coins

This small but very heavy pot held by a smiling Rev Nicholas Holtam, the current vicar, also holds a lovely story. It is jammed full of small change! A listener heard the 2009 Appeal and decided to put her coppers into this pot during the year to give to the 2010 Christmas Appeal. When it came to delivering the money it was so heavy, her husband had to drive her and the pot to St Martins! Thank you.

I am sure that the cold weather in December made all of us acutely aware of how dreadful it must be to have no home in such weather. One listener wrote: "I have always been a bit judgemental with regard to the homeless but this cold snap has made me grateful for my warm and comfortable home. I cannot imagine anything worse than sleeping rough just now."

For those who like numbers Craig Norman who administers the Christmas Appeal tells me that it hit the £10,000 mark in 1939. It hit £100,000 in 1982.....and in 2010 it has achieved £1,000,000 - it truly is a landmark year. But as the Rev Nick Holtam says:

Austen Williams, who was my predecessor but one, died on the day of the Christmas Appeal 9 years ago and he heard the appeal and said one day they're going to reach a million pounds and actually we're standing on the shoulders of lots of people who've done this before and we've reached a million pounds - it is extraordinary.

Thank you.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• Donations to the appeal are still coming in. Make yours on the Radio 4 web site.
• The picture was taken in Leinster Square, Bayswater in West London by Blodeuwed, a member of the homeless photographers group at The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields. More pictures from the group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Visit the page and click the 'Like' button for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.

We were planning to update you on the Christmas Appeal as we did last year on the 12th day of Christmas but we couldn't resist sharing our news. We are almost at last year's record total of £900,000 and it is not yet even christmas and as you will see from the picture - there is still a lot of post to open.

Currently you have raised £850,000 for the Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal! As ever the donations come in all shapes and sizes... one of the volunteers told me how he opened one cheque for two pounds and then the next was two hundred - it's all those donations big and small that have got us to this amazing total.

The other lovely thing we wanted to share with you are the quotes from the letters we receive:

I used to have a good friend, Dennis, a homeless man who spoke so highly of you. He used to say if you are in the gutter, look up and you will see the stars.

Hello, I'm writing from a little village in Devon. There's over a foot of snow outside & the roads are frozen. I cannot imagine how anyone can be sleeping on the street tonight. Herewith my paltry contribution"

No donation is paltry to us, of course.

This is the money I would have spent on Christmas cards if I hadn't made them myself. I'm sending it after listening to your appeal on the radio.

Many of us are set for hard times ahead; I don't have much but at present have more than some so am happy to give when I can. Keep up the good work.

If you are in sight of a BBC big screen - there are 18 of them around the UK - look out for Jamie's audio slideshow. It is the first time this 84 year-old Radio appeal has appeared on the big screens... but why not? (If you happen to have a camera with you when you see it - perhaps you could take a picture for us?) So thank you so much for all your support and kind words. We will continue to open post over the Christmas period and we will be back to update you on the 12th day of Christmas.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• Make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Pictures by homeless photographers from The Connection's photography group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Visit the page and click the 'Like' button for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.

Editor's note: Sally Flatman, producer of all the Radio 4 Appeal programmes, brings us news from St Martin's. Make your own donation to the appeal on the Radio 4 web site - SB.

We've had an amazing start to this year's appeal - on Sunday, taking calls in London and Belfast from 8am till 10pm we received over £100,000. That is a record but you'll understand why we are still holding our breath - we don't underestimate the challenge of reaching last year's total of £900,000 particularly in the current economic climate.

The job of opening the post is really only just beginning but the team of volunteers is in place and working hard. (there are usually sacks of mail) As ever there are extraordinary donations like the postal orders which total £750 from someone who simply says that they: "spent two nights in the night shelter in 2001... thank you very much all involved".

We will keep in touch as the post gets opened. Thank you to all of you who have given via the web - again we are seeing more donations this year from the web but does this mean there will be fewer cheques? We still don't know at this stage.

If you haven't yet given and would still like to then please call 0800 082 82 84 or send your cheque made payable to St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal to Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 4JJ. If you are giving via the web do spare a couple of minutes to watch Jamie Winter's slideshow: The World Through the Eyes of a Homeless Photographer.

In the meantime we thought we would share this picture with you - the post being answered back in 1950 ...note the sign on the wall - 'PLEASE DON'T TALK' And what a lot of hats...

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• Listen to the Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal and make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Listen to Libby Purves' Received with Thanks about how your donations are used.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Like the page for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.

You always feel nervous at 7.55am when you are waiting for the Vicar's Radio 4 Christmas Appeal to go out on air - will the phones really start ringing any second. But I need not have worried, our Radio 4 listeners don't let us down - they were ringing to give to this the 84th annual appeal all day on Sunday.

The Reverend Nicholas Holtam says: "The volunteers answering the phones were marvellous. I kept hearing snippets of conversation. Someone gave £5, someone else £1,000, I was really struck that as the volunteers left at the end of their shift answering the phones they nearly all said, "Thank you. It is a privilege to be able to help." This is a very personal appeal with a lot of warmth and generosity."

Many were moved by the story in Received with Thanks, Libby Purves' report back programme how the money from the appeal is spent, of the homeless man who gives his shoes to an older homeless man whose shoes had been stolen. One listener wrote a cheque but also sent two pairs of men's shoes with a note which read: "I hope you can make good use of these - I wish you well."

Others liked hearing from Rosemary Morgan who first heard the Christmas Appeal when she was growing up in Wales, "it touched a spot" and she has been giving to it ever since. She is now 81 years old. The current vicar of St Martins thinks she must have been listening to the Rev Eric Loveday who was at the church from 1941-1947.

If you haven't seen Jamie Winter's photographs and slideshow do spare a couple of minutes to take a look. We knew we wanted to put a slideshow together for this year's appeal and the idea emerged to give clients at the Connection disposable cameras. A photography group was set up and very quickly we realised how powerful these pictures were. Now that photography group has won the Talk Talk Digital Heroes award.

Ben Richardson who runs the group said: "the group are bowled over - it's a huge recognition and everyone is very excited about the potential for doing something in the new year... it opens doors."

These pictures have the power to reveal to us things we don't know about homelessness. Libby Purves says:

Meeting people at the Connection is always fascinating and - despite the harshness of the lives they have come from - oddly heartening. It is extraordinary to meet a young man like Jamie, emerging from a loneliness and alienation so traumatic that he did not speak for months, and find him friendly, creative, and above all filled with hope that he will have a home and a job before long. His achievement - still in progress - is considerable, but so is the achievement of those who over those long months stuck by Jamie, encouraged him, and suggested outlets for his considerable gift of quirky creativity. I felt honoured that he was willing to talk to me and show me his witty, thoughtful photographs.

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• The Vicar's Christmas Appeal will be repeated at 3.25 on Thursday afternoon Make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Received with Thanks will repeat at 3.45 on Thursday afternoon.
• Pictures by The Connection's photography group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Like the page for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.
• Picture of telephones by Dan Brady. Some rights reserved.

Have you ever wondered who will be on the end of phone when you ring up to give to the Radio 4 St Martin-in-the-Fields Christmas Appeal? Well if you hear the bells in the background you are through to the offices of St Martins in Trafalgar square where volunteers will answer the phones all day on Sunday - you might even get the vicar taking your call!

Gill - who is Assistant to the Controller of Radio 4 has answered the phones for many years she says:

What's special is getting a chance to talk to people all over the country, and it's lovely when in the background they can hear the bells of St Martins! We often talk about Radio 4 and the weather! Often callers have heard the broadcast and they say:'there but for the grace of God go I'. There's no complacency about our listeners, being homeless is not something that happens to other people, they understand how easily these things can happen.

Pam Rutherford is a BBC radio producer in the Science Unit:

Pam Rutherford.

I answered the phones a few years ago for the Radio 4 Christmas appeal and it was great fun and also quite moving at times. A few people who phoned up to make donations had similar stories of homelessness and had been helped out in the past by charities like the Radio 4 appeal. Their stories were inspiring. The vicar comes round and chats to you in the small gaps between taking phone calls! Basically it's great to help out with a charity that obviously does so much great work. I work about 500 metres down the road so I regularly walk past St Martin's and of course you often see homeless people around London so it's great to know there are places like The Connection and funds like the VRF which working to help them.

Last Sunday (28th Nov) Pam ran a marathon, raising money for the Christmas Appeal. Post marathon she said:

Err... it was very painful! I've done them before but this was the hardest ever - very cold and rainy. The charity was definitely a factor in keeping me going so thanks!

But don't be surprised if you get a Belfast accent. This year due to the volume of calls we took in 2009 we have recruited volunteers at the Capita call centre in Belfast where they answer our Radio 4 Appeal calls each week. They had plenty of desks and phones available on Sunday and offered to help out which is great.

Conor at Capita in Belfast:

We're looking forward to taking your calls on Sunday!

Sally Flatman is producer of The Radio 4 Appeal

• The Radio 4 Christmas Appeal begins on Sunday morning at 0755. Make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Pictures by The Connection's photography group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Like the page for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.
• Picture of telephones by Dan Brady. Some rights reserved.

Editor's note: this blog post begins with a slideshow made by homeless photographer Jamie Winter, a member of a photography group run by The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields - SB

I once edited a Radio 4 debate about homelessness... We based it in the heart of London near Shaftesbury Avenue. The platform was filled with good people who worked hard and we drew out policy differences and approaches in the way we do at the BBC. A little way into the discussion the hall began to fill up with homeless people. Soon it was packed and the debate took a different turn as we responded to the voices of those who lived on the streets.

The atmosphere sharpened and simmered. A young woman, dark, with long hair, spoke up. I recall she said something like this: "If we took all you do-gooders and put your salaries together and split them up we could buy a flat for all of us homeless... why don't you just stop talking for once and think about that." I often think of her when it's cold - good time now perhaps to stop talking and support the Radio 4 Christmas Appeal.

Gwyneth Williams is Controller of BBC Radio 4 and Radio 7

• The Radio 4 Christmas Appeal begins on Sunday morning at 0755. Make a donation on the Radio 4 web site.
• Pictures by The Connection's photography group are on Flickr.
• The BBC Radio 4 Appeal has a Facebook page. Like the page for updates on the weekly appeal which raised a total of £1.5M for 52 charities last year.

Editor's note. You can make a donation to this year's Radio 4 Christmas Appeal on the St Martin-in-the-Fields web site - SB

The service at St Martin-in-the-Fields for homeless people who have died in the past year never fails to move me. During the service the names of those who have died are read out, today it was 156 names, the names are interspersed with prayers, poems and music. It was after this service back in 2006 that I first met Dave McKane.

Dave had been rough sleeping for over 20 years and afterwards over tea and sandwiches we talked. He became part of that year's Radio 4 Christmas Appeal - Received with Thanks programme, which reports on how the money from the appeal is spent. He told me: "they say that homelessness is easy to get used to, it's not, it's bloody hard work. You think you can survive but a lot don't." A reference I felt to the service we had both just sat through.

Dave was described as an entrenched rough sleeper, someone who it is really hard to move off the streets. I remember we chatted easily in the clothing stall - Dave selecting and describing the way to dress in layers to survive a winter on the streets, but he also talked about his darker moments when he would throw his rucksack in the Thames in anger or despair - or perhaps both.

Move forward two years - it's Autumn 2008 and as I start the recordings for the Christmas Appeal, staff at The Connection tell me I must interview Dave again - he's moved off the streets into a hostel. Dave poses for some photos, standing on the steps of the hostel recalling how when he first arrived the worker said "take that rucksack off" and how "to get the rucksack off was a relief". He proudly showed me his room and admitted that for the first week he slept in his sleeping bag on the floor, he was so unused to a bed. When he did finally 'hop into the bed' he slept for 23 hours. It was great to be able to tell Dave's story in the programme, to show that donations really could make a difference.

I've done the recordings for this year's programme and a theme that has emerged is that staff feel they must never give up on clients, even when those clients try to push them away, "they feel they're not worthy, we know they are". The work is painstaking, sometimes two steps forward, one step back, it takes patience. As I leave the church, after this year's service for those who died homeless, I pause to chat to one of the priests, then look behind me to see a tall man, smartly dressed in a dark suit with a black tie and yes it's Dave. He greets me with a hug, asks after my family and then tells me how he has moved into a flat now. I comment on how well he looks - he laughs and tells me he's looking after himself now. He loves cooking and where others might hate the trip to Tesco to get some supper, he 'could spend all day in there'! I ask if I can take his photo on the church portico.

We're now in the countdown to this year's appeal, over the next 3 weeks we'll be promoting it on air, on the Radio 4 website, on the Radio 4 facebook page and then on the 5th December we'll open the phone lines and hold our breath for that first call. Last year we raised almost £900,000 none of us know how that comes from this small 3 minute appeal - it's a bit of a minor miracle but I'm heartened by my chance meeting with Dave maybe he's a good omen for this year...

Sally Flatman is Producer of the Radio 4 Appeal

• Make a donation to this year's Radio 4 Christmas Appeal on the St Martin-in-the-Fields web site.
• Learn more about The Connection at St Martin-in-the-Fields on the web site.
• The picture shows Dave McKane outside St Martin-in-the-Fields in London after the service. It was taken by Sally Flatman.

Editor's note: last year listeners gave over £1.5 Million to the weekly Radio 4 Appeals. Here, producer Sally Flatman highlights this week's appeal, from Muriel Gray - SB

Please take 5 minutes to listen to Muriel Gray talking about a wonderful charity called Contact a Family. Listeners' donations to this charity could make a difference to hundreds of families who are bringing up a disabled child. Take a look at the charity's web site where families, who are, as Muriel explains, often very isolated, are put in touch with others who are facing the same challenges and given support and advice.

In her Appeal Muriel describes how Contact a Family has been a lifeline to many families with disabled children over the last 30 years and appeals for donations to ensure their work with often vulnerable families continues.

Listen to Muriel talking about the experience of families of disabled children:

And listen to the appeal in full on the Radio 4 web site.

Sally Flatman is producer of the Radio 4 Appeal

• The Radio 4 Appeal is on-air every Sunday at XXXX and repeated at 1530 on Thursday. Make a donation via the Radio 4 web site.
• The picture shows Janet, Paul and Alice (age 12). There are more pictures from Contact a Family on the Radio 4 web site.
• Visit the Contact a Family web site or the charity's Facebook page to learn more.