As Christmas fast approaches, many of the UK's charity organisations look to the professional community to lend their support by volunteering to help in a practical way.

One such charity is Crisis, the national homelessness charity, who is appealing for dental nurses and hygienists to volunteer their skills to help homeless people this Christmas.

Last year, over 1,200 homeless and vulnerable people visited the Crisis Open Christmas shelters based in London. The shelters offer warmth, food, companionship and access to services during the festive season. The dentists, dental nurses and hygienists are a key part of the 500 professional medics who are needed to volunteer for a range of shifts and hours between 23rd and 30th December.

Dental Service Organiser, Liz Deuchars, says that the medical centre was visited by three quarters of guests last year. She adds that as many homeless people have little or no access to health services, the medical centre provides a vital lifeline.

The dental nurses and hygienists are key in treating guests who may not have visited a dentist for some time, and so the charity needs as much help as possible and urges people to get involved in order to make a difference to homeless people this Christmas.

The dental team is part of the 3,000 strong team of volunteers who give up their time over Christmas to run the shelters. The time given by all the volunteers is estimated to be worth over £600,000 but more important is the warmth and understanding that guests receive from the volunteers.

One third of guests sleep rough with the rest being part of the hidden homeless population, who are trapped in hostels, B&Bs or other temporary accommodation.

The volunteer hotline is 020 7426 3872, email coc@crisis.org.uk or apply online at www.crisis.org.uk.

Liz Deuchars shares her experience of volunteering on page 20.