EXCLUSIVE: Innovative project set to take NI's homeless off streets
New enterprise aims to tackle issue head on
Last updated 23rd Jun 2018
EXCLUSIVE By Sarah McKinley
Northern Ireland’s homeless are set to benefit from a unique new initiative.
Belfast based OutsideIn (Oi) makes and sells clothes.
Its mantra is ‘wear one, share one’.
For every item bought, a hat or waterproof blanket is given to a homeless person – in their first year they sold 10,000 products. Therefore, 10,000 items were also donated.
And now, those who are homeless are to be taken off the streets to be employed in the manufacturing process of these clothes too.
Every purchase from the “All =” (all equal) collection, 50% of the cost will go to training a homeless person to sew, screen-print or manufacture products and employing them.
And there is another twist – OutsideIn ask that their customers actually go and find a homeless person and give the extra gift they receive in person to combat loneliness and isolation on the streets.
They ask people to extend a hand in friendship to somebody on the streets.
This is in an effort to invite those on the outside of society, in.
Ross became homeless when his marriage broke down.
Although he was only sheltered from the rain by a disintegrating cardboard box, he tore it up so that Oi’s Judy Shaw and I would not have to sit on the cold, hard ground.
“One good turn deserves another”, he said.
“We’re not all drug addicts or alcoholics or thieves or robbers of conmen or con-artists, we’re not bad men… we’re just people who are down on their luck, struggling in life”.
Ross said he wished more people would stop for a civilised chat. He cited an example of one man who offered him £20 and when Ross went to reach for it, the stranger spat in his face.
Oi’s Judy said how easy it is to make the first approach to someone who is homeless and encourages everybody to make the effort, saying that “loneliness on the streets is one of the biggest problems – it makes people want to give up. It makes them believe they are worthless”.
Judy said that Oi puts a lot of trust in the customer to do the right thing when they receive a second item.
“Sometimes we go to offer somebody on the streets a hat and see they already have one with our logo on it – it’s truly heart-warming to know that somebody has already gone to the effort of reaching out with one of our products”.
Judy gave these giving guidelines:
- Go in groups and distribute the beanies in busy, well-lit areas
- On the Oi tag, include a personal message of hope or the number of a local homeless charity.
- Respect every homeless individual’s personal space. Get down to eye level so you can truly engage with them and their stories.