Monday, 21 August 2023
Monday, 14 August 2023
The kindness of strangers - (an e mail I received last year)
My kids were asking for a small swimming pool and that day I decided that they had been behaving good and deserved it. No need to take the car just make it fun and walk, my oldest was 7 and my second 6 and my daughter was barely 15 months.on our way to Wilko, It was good until the way down back home, me caring a big swimming box and a bag full of items that i didn’t need from b&m, my daughter scream and wanted to be held and boys having a big fight, not unusual, i didn’t notice that i have lost my wallet and that homeless man took it and has been calling me and i didn’t hear anything because of the noise of my troupe. He followed me until home and gave me back my wallet. I was overwhelmed and unfortunately he didn’t want to take anything , offered to have a drink and he didn’t let me give him anything as a reward.
Sunday, 13 August 2023
Government urged to bring in new laws to protect homeless people in heatwaves
https://www.bigissue.com/news/housing/homeless-people-heatwaves-bring-in-laws-government/
Wednesday, 9 August 2023
7th July
7th July
Myself and a friend
(TJ) went into town. I had a couple of errands to run and we stocked up with as
much water as we could carry to hand out. We managed to give out 8 bottles of
water in a short amount of time (including one for a very friendly doggy).
Water is always
needed, more so in hot weather. I tend to collect plastic bottles and fill them
up from the tap to hand out.
Annette B
Be a Friendly Face
- To see homeless people as individuals with a story that did not start on the
street.
Ways To Help Page
General
Considerations
Be respectful. Treat the person the same
as you would anybody else you had just met for the first time. Smile and say
hello. If they're receptive, ask them if they're new to the area if you’ve not
seen them before.
Please don’t wake people up if
they are clearly just asleep. However, it is vital to discreetly ensure they
are still breathing, for their own safety. If there is any cause for alarm it's
essential to (safely) double-check & call 999 if you feel it's
necessary.
Learn the names of people you see
often and use them.
Talk to family and friends about the
subject and spread the word. Challenge stereotypes when you feel you can and
then talk to your children about the subject.
Let me (and others) know of any services
you are aware of that work with homeless people. I hope to build helpful
regional lists of these with reader's help.
Small Acts of Kindness
Could you buy anything for a food bank
when you do a major shop?
Make two or three sets of
sandwiches or a snack and eat with a homeless person (I often take an apple).
This can help avoid people feeling awkward and start to build rapport.
Small value vouchers for coffee or sandwich shops can be more helpful than giving money. They can give peace of mind that the person gets food. It also gives them a chance to use a restroom and take shelter in times of bad weather. If you see the same person again, you can ask if they had any difficulties using the facility.
Donate unwanted items to your local charity shop. Even if the charity's aims aren’t specifically to help homeless people, it can provide people on a low income the means of buying essential items.
Find
out if any businesses in your area are supportive of homeless people. Are there
places that give out leftover food at the end of the day? If there are, can you
direct homeless people there? (If you do visit such establishments yourself,
make sure to let them know their kindness is why you're supporting their
business).
Be
Proactive
Find out about volunteering opportunities in your area.
Ask a
nearby café if they will let you ‘pay it forward’ so that a homeless person
can pick up a drink and food when needed.
Contact
your local MP. Tell them you are concerned about homelessness in your area. Ask
them what they are doing about the issue.
Find
out what services are available in your area. Ask a homeless person if they have
tried any of them. Please don’t be offended if they have previously had
negative experiences with the services.
Can
you arrange a charity fundraising event? School, work, or any other group you
are a member of are all good places to start.
Other Helpful Organisations
- Local libraries
- Drug and alcohol projects
- Affordable housing and fair rent campaigns
- Mental health charities
- Abuse support groups
Want
to learn more? The National Audit Office, The Big Issue and The Rowntree
Foundation have a wealth of useful information about homelessness. There are
also helpful TED talks on YouTube.
In the beginning…
Sorry
if this is a bit long, but I wanted to fully explain how the idea came about.
So, please bear with me (and feel free to grab a brew).
I
used to stop briefly and chat to/buy coffee and a sausage roll for a homeless
person when I was in town and more regularly for whoever was sitting outside my
local Co-op. However, after a while, I started to feel more and more
overwhelmed by the number of homeless people I could see, even in a small area.
I didn’t want to buy food for just one person and ignore the others, but there
was no way I could afford to buy for that many people.
One
rainy morning at 2 am, I had a crazy urge to walk to the Co-op to go and buy
cigarettes. (I've no idea why, I never normally bother to go to the shop just
for cigs at that time of the morning, especially in the rain!). Outside the
shop, I saw the form of a person trying to keep dry in a phone box. I walked
over, not sure what to say but wanting to say something. Have you ever had one
of those moments where your brain fails to work and your mouth works on its
own? That’s what happened here. I knocked on the door of the phone box and when
he answers, what I blurt out is, “Good job you don’t have a sunroof..”.
Thankfully,
he laughs. I buy him a sandwich and a hot drink.
I
saw him a few times after that and we often chatted. Sometimes he volunteers to
look after my dog while I go into the shop. If I happen to have a seizure, he
will sit with me while I come around. I usually keep a lookout for him in the
area, and he calls to me if he sees me.
I
feel we’re forming the basis of a friendship, and as I get to know him as an
individual, I notice the entire time he's never asked me for money.
After
a while, he disappeared. I ask around for him and in the process start talking
to other homeless people, getting to know their names and (importantly) getting
to know them as individuals.
I know the frustration of
feeling there is nothing you can do to help. I also know that many people would
like to help if they knew what to do.
This is how I got the idea
for Be a Friendly Face
Annette B - Founder Be a Friendly Face
-----------------------------
Welcome
Be a friendly face: To see homeless people as
individuals with a story that did not start on the street.
Hi all, welcome to my new Be a Friendly Face Blog.
It is looking a bit bare at the moment
but please bear with me as I hope it will grow.
On here I will post
· News articles
about homeless
· Ways to
help and services in the Leeds area*
· Experiences of talking to the homeless
· Other information
I think may be useful or interesting relating to homelessness or the contributing
factors.
Be A Friendly Face is not a charity. I am one person acting individually, aiming to offer practical ways that anyone can help and build a database of resources along with positive stories from myself and (hopefully) others.
Thanks for reading. Please share with
anyone you think may be interested.
Please feel free to get in touch. I would love to hear about (and share with permission) your stories, ideas or information about services.
Our Facebook page is now live. Or e-mail - beafriendlyface@yahoo.com
Annette – founder of Be a Friendly Face
(*I am always happy to include information about
other areas. Please get in touch if you have any information you would like to share)
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