Volunteer group turns to online wish lists, boot amnesties, and fundraising grants to ensure those most vulnerable are kept safe this winter
Homeless Hope, a volunteer group that provides basic foot care for rough sleepers in South Wales has started an Amazon wish list to avoid face-to-face contact with donators and ensure those most in need receive foot care during winter.
The adjustment was made as the group realised they wouldn’t be able to continue treatment directly.
Previously, the group would host sit-down clinics around city centres in Swansea, Powys, and Cardiff. Their NHS volunteers have been adhering to the NHS Code of Conduct regarding social distancing in light of Covid-19 and are unable to set up face-to-face clinics.
NHS nurse and team member at Homeless Hope, Mandy Mills said, “There’s a risk that we could be taking Covid out to them because of the environment we frequent or vice versa.” She said the wish list allowed them to tailor the items people donated, making sure they weren’t missing out on anything they hadn’t been able to receive through treatment.
The wish list has seen an influx of donations, these will be distributed in homeless shelters across South Wales in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
From the ground up
A systematic review produced by MEDLINE in 2016 found that, “Homeless individuals often had inadequate foot hygiene practices and improperly-fitting shoes.” This led to foot conditions like calluses, nail pathologies, and infections becoming highly prevalent among homeless individuals.
Mandy said she’s seen cases where some people didn’t even have soles to their shoes. This inspired her to start the Homeless Hope boot amnesty back in March. Since then, Homeless Hope has collected 200 pairs of boots. They have also received grants from Tesco’s Bags of Help Communities Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund Wales.
The community has really stepped up in light of the pandemic. Mandy said, “The support has been completely phenomenal.”
Homeless Hope will become a fully qualified charity in 2021 and hope to re-establish their pop-up clinics as soon as possible. In the meantime, they continue to take donations remotely and raise funds where they can.