IN PICTURES and VIDEO: Homeless at Christmas: Seeing smiles gave me hope

The people who attend are those who have had life rough, they could be sleeping on the streets every night, they could be shacked up in a hostel somewhere or they could have such little money that they are forced to attend soup kitchens like the Good Shepherd just to eat.

They feel they have been let down by the system and have the right to be angry, resentful and bitter.

So imagine my surprise when I walked through the doors at the back of the Darlington Street Methodist Church to be met with smiles, laughter and a wall of noise.

And this wasn't because of my dodgy haircut, these people were genuinely happy to be there.

There was no sense of being down on their luck, they knew how lucky they were to have a service like this that could provide them food, shelter and company just for a few short hours.

Let's start with that last point, company. It was something, perhaps naively, I never really considered when I rang Brother Stephan Brennan and asked if I could attend his soup kitchen.

I thought it would be about people getting food for free and then getting back to their lives.

Admittedly some do do that, but the vast majority stick around for the whole two hours.

I asked David Beckett, who was featured in Monday's Express & Star, why?

He told me it was all about the company. For him he loves the opportunity to come down and speak to the people he now considers friends.

He wasn't alone in his views. Through their time at the Good Shepherd the people who attend have formed a bond, a real sense of community spirit.

I recognised this community spirit as soon as I walked through the door. I didn't expect complete silence but I thought noise would be at a minimum. How wrong I was as every person was chatting away to their friends, catching up on life, checking on each other's health and wellbeing.

This made me so nervous as I suddenly realised I had a community to almost infiltrate and they were well within their rights to tell me to go away.

But they welcomed me with open arms, something I'm extremely grateful for.

I learnt, as the day progressed, that a lot of the reasons the atmosphere is so good down there is because of the Good Shepherd Ministry led by Brother Brennan and all the volunteers who give their time.

A few of the rough sleepers at the soup kitchen told me the contempt they sometimes get on the streets when they're begging. Scotty Parkin recounting to me how one guy told him to 'f*** off and get a job' when he asked for money for a sandwich.

Yet this thought never crosses the volunteers minds, not even for one second.

They are so kind, thoughtful and helpful. They serve the food with a smile on their face, they offer support where they can and they chat away. Not because they have to, because they want to.

Brother Brennan makes it his business to get to know everybody who comes through his doors.

I'm fairly certain he could recount my life story better than most and I was only there for a few hours.

But the support extends beyond the people who physically give their time.

As me and Brother Brennan went for a sit down chat, he led me into a side room where I was met with what could only be described as the Mount Everest of food.

Seeing that, and hearing how business from across the city donate what they can, made me realise that the Good Shepherd are not alone in their fight to help those less fortunate than ourselves.