How you can help
So, you want to help Birmingham’s homeless: here are a few suggestions…
If you have read the articles so far in this series, some of you might be asking: what can we do to help?
Not everyone is comfortable approaching people in the street, for whatever reason.
And for those of us who are, giving money to the homeless is not necessarily the best solution, as Councillor Sharon Thompson pointed out.
Buying them a coffee or a sandwich might help. But it won’t actually solve the real problem — which is the fact that they are homeless.
So what else can we do?
Here are a few suggestions:
So to recap: Streetlink helps you keep local officials informed about rough sleepers in your neighbourhood…
Change into Action is where you can send your donations with a guarantee that the money will go to helping the homeless…
And if you want to volunteer, both Tabor House and The Big Issue are looking for help.
And here’s a late runner: another organisation that could use your help, recommended by Jon Hyde at The Big Issue. Sifa Fireside run a drop-in centre for homeless people in Birmingham.
Sifa Fireside run a drop-in centre for homeless people in Birmingham. They are looking not just for volunteers, but for everday items that their homeless clients need.
Over to you…
Also in this series:
1 The Big Issue. For many, selling the magazine has been a first step towards regaining control of their lives
2 Michael’s Story Michael, 27, lost everything after his father died. The Big Issue helped him find his way back.
3 Street Wise Councillor Sharon Thompson is well placed to speak for the homeless: as a teenager, she slept rough on the streets of Birmingham herself.
4 How you can help
Photo: Birmingham Skyline from Edgbaston Cricket Ground, by Jimmy Guano (Wikimedia Commons)
Originally published at social.shorthand.com.
