Homebuilder pledges £1,500 to Leeds charity battling homelessness
A homelessness charity in Leeds has received a £1,500 donation from a leading housebuilder to support its work for the vulnerable members of the community.
Barratt and David Wilson Homes Yorkshire West, also based in Leeds, donated to Homeless Street Angels which hands out food and other essentials to homeless and vulnerable people, whilst providing a range of other valuable services.
The funding will be used to replenish the stock at the charity’s foodbank, as it distributes food parcels every Wednesday and always has a limited supply.
Shelley Joyce, Co-Founder of Homeless Street Angels, said: “We go out every Thursday night and hand out over 100 hot meals and desserts, as well as sandwiches and snack packs, warm clothes, toiletries, sleeping bags, tents, and other essentials to the homeless community around Leeds city centre.
“We have recently opened our new support centre, Abi House, where we have our foodbank and hold life skill classes for our clients. We now have over 900 families on our register.”
Shelley and her twin sister, Becky, set up the charity after their younger sister, Abi, passed away. The charity grew from their hearts, and they are helping others and making lives better every day.
Homeless Street Angels provides fuel vouchers for families living in poverty and have teamed up with Public Health England to help provide dental care for its clients.
It works closely with a wide range of other services to help source furniture, whitegoods, bedding and other essentials once its beneficiaries have a property, making a house a home.
Shelley added: “We are so grateful for companies like Barratt and David Wilson Homes for acknowledging the work we do and helping us to continue to do what we love.
“Without our help, a lot of our clients would potentially become homeless. We strongly believe prevention is better than the cure and, with the cost-of-living increasing so rapidly, we are seeing a huge increase for our services.”
Barratt and David Wilson Homes’ donation was made via The Barratt Redrow Foundation, run by the housebuilder’s parent company, Barratt Redrow Plc. It is designed to support national and local charities, large and small, across the UK to leave a legacy in the communities in which the housebuilder operates.
Gavin Birch, Managing Director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes Yorkshire West, said: “Homeless Street Angels carries out a range of excellent services for people in Leeds, helping those in need and going above and beyond to present them with greater opportunities in life.
“We are pleased to support such a fantastic charity with our £1,500 donation and hope it can continue to be a lifeline for vulnerable members of the community.”
To find out more about the work of the charity, visit the website at Homeless Street Angels.
For more information about developments in the county, visit the websites at Barratt Homes in West Yorkshire and David Wilson Homes in West Yorkshire.