120 thermal socks, 45 chocolates and 24 cartons of water donated to StreetKind UK
Street Kind UK are a local project set up in 2019, who conducts regular outreach services for the homeless once a month. Based in Southampton Street in the Covent Garden area, Street Kind aim to help homeless people within the Strand region despite most of the founding team living in North London. They use a range of approaches to support the homeless including coordinating volunteers, alerting people living on the streets about outreach days, raising funds via Go Fund Me and receiving donations. They also offer an array of items ranging from food and drink to basic essentials such as underwear and socks. Come rain or sunshine, you can count on the Street Kind team to make a difference to the homeless in the Strand!
This is our third time volunteering with Street Kind and it is unlikely to be the last. In April 2021, we donated 120 pairs of thermal socks and 24 cartons of water in addition to 45 chocolates from a previous donation from Borough Food Cooperative. No two outreaches are the same, but a typical day includes distributing essentials and using this as an opening to talk to the homeless. This way we can try to understand and sympathise with their experiences on the street, as well as giving the homeless someone to talk to, whilst people try to walk past as if they don’t exist. As we have volunteered with Street Kind before, we have noticed familiar faces who regularly come for hot meals, drinks, companionship and essentials available at the stalls. They also had a barber who gave free haircuts, and the queue was endless! A haircut may seem like nothing to you, but it can do a lot for one’s self-esteem. A little goes a long way to show you care, and it is very comforting to know that someone cares about the appearance of the homeless.
Street Kind is an amazing organisation that is making a positive impact to the homeless in the Strand and this wouldn’t be possible without the drive and determination of the founding team and volunteers. In recent times, more volunteers have signed up, which will help to distribute the workload more proportionately among the team. Helping the homeless is no small task, so Street Kind welcomes all who wish to volunteer or contribute in one way or another. To find out more information about Street Kind and how you can support their monthly outreach services, visit them on Twitter or Instagram (@streetkinduk) or the following links listed below.
- https://www.leiho.co.uk/blogs/social-impact/streetkind
- https://www.strandlines.london/2019/08/26/streetkind-uk/
Written by: Georgina Weston