Flamingos Coffee House provides hot drinks to homeless during heavy snow and freezing temperatures

Staff at the Flamingos Coffee House, in Central Arcade, began handing out cups of tea, coffee and food to homeless people in the city centre on Thursday, January 4, after temperatures plummeted below freezing and heavy snow began covering the city.

Owner, James Greenhalgh, decided he had to something to help people keep warm after calling in to check on the cafe and seeing people out on the streets.

He shared what he planned to do on the cafe's social media accounts and was shocked to receive a huge response from people asking if they could donate towards the costs.

James, 30, from Kirkstall, said: "The shop is closed at the moment but I was going in anyway so I thought while I was there I might as well put the coffee machine on because it was a very cold day.

"I'd passed quite a lot of homeless people on the way in so it made sense to make them a few drinks to keep warm.

"People were really grateful.

"It was quite sad seeing people struggling with mental health or addictions but they were thankful for the food and drink."

He added: "I shared what I was doing on social media and lots of people got in touch asking if they could donate to help pay for a few bits and bobs.

"One of our lovely customers had already set up a Go Fund Me page for us last year when Covid struck, so people began donating on there.

"In total we raised almost £1,000 in just a few days.

"This means what was going to be a one-off thing is now something we can now continue doing for the next month."

Flamingos Coffee House - the city's only sober, late night, LGBT+ friendly cafe - has always worked hard to put community at the heart of the business, ever since it opened in 2018, the owner said.

James said: "Part of our ethos has always been to go give back to our city. We always try to raise money for local charities and communities.

"When we were open, volunteers from the homeless charity, Simon On The Streets, would pick up drinks every week and take them out to people.

"We take for granted a warm bed and a roof over our head, but for a lot of people on the street, just a small gesture of a hot drink can make a big difference.

"Thanks to the generous support we received, we are now able to do so much more for the vulnerable people in Leeds."

You can visit the Go Fund Me page here: www.gofundme.com