New campaign underway to help the homeless in Scarborough
It's designed to encourage people to donate to charities that offer support
A new campaign is underway in Scarborough to help people get off the streets.
It is called ‘Change the Way You Give’ and is designed to encourage people to donate to charities that support the homeless and not to give to people on the streets instead.
The campaign is a joint initiative by Scarborough's Rainbow Centre, the FirstLight Trust and the Salvation Army. It is supported by Scarborough Borough Council.
All three charities have a role to play in supporting vulnerable people and they are well placed to deal with issues relating to homelessness.
They said:
"No-one likes to see someone on the street, sleeping rough or not able to feed themselves.
"However, the truth is that some beggars may mis-represent their situation to ask for money.
"Giving them spare change – even a handful of coins – can make the person’s situation worse by keeping them on the street for longer."
The Scarborough scheme has been developed using the experience of both the town of Harrogate and city of Cambridge which already have similar projects up and running.
A simple-to-use text message system has been set up so someone can easily donate to one of the three charities involved.
To support this project, people should text the word CHANGES, followed by the amount they’d like to donate (for example CHANGES5 to give £5 or CHANGES10 to give £10) to the following numbers:
- 70450 for your donation to support the FirstLight Trust
- 70460 for your donation to support the Salvation Army
- 70470 for your donation to support the Rainbow Centre in Scarborough
Text messages will cost the person’s chosen donation and one standard-rate message.
Trish Kinsella, manager of the Rainbow Centre in Scarborough, said:
“We exist for some of the most vulnerable people in the borough.
“Our food bank is extremely busy as are all the facilities we offer in Scarborough which include showers, laundry and clothes for people who are homeless.
“Like the partner organisations we work with, we rely on donations for our income.
“I hope people in Scarborough who have the means to help us will consider changing the way they give to support the work we all do.”
Major Stephen Noble, from The Salvation Army, said:
“So often we have a dilemma, we see a vulnerable person on the street and unsure whether we should offer money which may be used inappropriately.
“The ‘Change the Way You Give’ initiative allows members of the public to offer appropriate support, which not only deals with immediate needs but can lead to life changing support.”
Dorinda Wolfe Murray, chief executive and founding trustee of the FirstLight Trust, said:
“Preventing homelessness is the key.
“Street homelessness is the ‘in your face’ stuff but the real problem is hidden.
“If people change the way they give to the homeless, they can help us ensure that no veteran or family is cold or hungry.”
Councillor Carl Maw, cabinet member for stronger communities and housing said:
“We work very closely with charity organisations to do everything we can to support people who have become homeless or are in danger of losing the roof over their head.
“Giving spare change to someone on the streets, although well intentioned, does not address the cause of their homelessness and can inadvertently lead to keeping them there longer.
“The ‘Change the Way You Give’ project enables people who would like to help to directly support the groups already working with rough sleepers and homeless people.”