Homeless Hampers was established in November 2015. Our aim was to collect and distribute ‘hampers’ to the homeless for Christmas, containing essentials such as toiletries and chocolate.
The first outreach involved one flask of coffee and 5 volunteers handing out hampers. The community supporting us had donated 150 hampers that first Christmas.
Since then, Homeless Hampers has gone from strength to strength under the leadership of Tina and Aky Suryavanasi, now undertaking weekly outreaches in Leeds, with c. 20 volunteers per week distributing in excess of 150 meals, 25 litres of hot drinks and an assortment of essentials such as toiletries, clothing, blankets and sleeping bags.
In addition to weekly outreaches, Homeless Hampers are also providing food to a number of shelters and hostels across Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield, supporting individuals and families living in poverty in their homes and working with Simon on the Streets and Leeds City Council to provide food and resources for the No Recourse Accommodation Project.