Care home residents help homeless with 'shoe box' appeal

Residents of a care home in Rugby have been helping homeless people by donating shoe boxes filled with essential items such as blankets, bedding, toiletries, scarves and hats.

The scheme was encouraged by local homeless charity Hope4 and taken up by Willow Tree Nursing Home, which specialises in caring for elderly patients requiring personal, nursing and dementia care.

Staff encouraged residents and their families to participate. Items such as sweets and biscuits were also given for people sleeping rough.

Jackie Huckvale, manager of Willow Tree Nursing Home, said: “Our staff were invited to Hope4 where they got to learn more about the charity and report back to our residents, who have been very motivated in filling shoe boxes with essentials and a few creature comforts. It’s been a brilliant initiative and we are all delighted to help.”

Hope4 are based in Rugby and provide vital services for homeless people and for those experiencing hardship locally. Services they operate include a day centre for homeless and badly-housed people, a 'food ministry' to provide hot food and drinks to adults in need, plus, the coordination of the local food bank. There is also a winter shelter providing supper and beds and breakfasts for up to 15 rough-sleepers during the winter months.

A recent Government report, from January 2018, stated that 4,751 people were reported as ‘sleeping rough’ in England last autumn, an increase of 169 per cent since 2010 when the figures first started being recorded.

Responding to the figures, chief executive of Shelter Polly Neate, said: “These figures expose the worst pain inflicted by our housing crisis. We have failed as a society when so many people are forced to sleep rough.”

Many local charities like Hope4 are a vital lifeline for homeless people across the UK. They rely heavily on local support to deliver their services. Ms Huckvale said: “Homelessness is an issue all year round but in the coldest months of the year it is even more important to do our bit.”

click here for more details or to contact Willow Tree Nursing Home