Recent Work

Sunday 12th January 2025

Over the last week or so we consistently thought of our homeless community that are have very little choice but to sleep rough. Tonight was no exception. This was our first evening back of 2025 and we arrived to a long queue of mostly men wrapped around the corner.

Tonight we supported 151 people with hot meals, clothes and other essentials. People really were bitterly cold, while standing in the queue we served 10 litres of Helen’s homemade soup, which really warmed some people through. We are thankful to Helen for all her support.

Many people desperate for some warmth jumped the queue at the van to access warm clothes, and sleeping bags and blankets the volunteers just worked tirelessly to meet people’s demands.

We just about scraped tonight with the number of hot meals we provided and towards the end we ran out of hot food and the last dozen went away with sandwiches, pastries and a hot drink, even then people remained grateful.

Tonight we were pleased to see a gentleman we met standing in our food queue on a very wet night several months ago, we recall he was very really low, newly homeless and wasn’t coping too well, we spent some time talking to him and sign posting him to places, where he could seek support, he spoke about ending his life as he wasn’t coping, we knew he needed some respite off the streets, so that night we paid to place him in a hotel bed so he could take a hot shower and sleep in a warm bed. Our decision had paid off, he looked so well a remarkable difference, we gave him the courage to attend housing support after a good night sleep. He was placed in temporary accommodation and is waiting for a longer term housing, he was really optimistic about the future and shortly he will be starting a job as a roofer, as that’s his skill. He thanked us for saving his life as he stated that night his thoughts were very real. What really touched us was he mentioned the most important thing he remembers of that night was that we wrapped our arms around him that night, when he needed it the most, as he parted he came over and hugged us. These are the moments that make everything we do worth our time.

We came across another gentleman sitting in a doorway, shaking from the cold as he spoke, so cold that he too was crying, we asked him about the support he had accessed and he named a number action he had taken, but every he had been the queues were too long, he had gone to housing and there were 67 people in front of him, he gone to A&E with his extremely angry sores on his legs and he had waited 7 hours to be treated and ended up leaving. He felt embarrassed about waiting in places as his wounds are infected and smell, so we have asked him to attend the medical centre for the homeless and we are meeting him there to attend the appointment with him. We offered to fund a hotel bed for the night.

Although there was no outreach for the last 2 weeks all our usual support continued we continued to supply food donations to the food banks, we continued to provide meals into the homeless shelters, thank to the team in Leeds and Bradford for all their support.

We thank ourself less volunteers from braving the weather conditions and joining us tonight.

Thank you to Steve for his amazing continued support.

Thank you to Punjabi Heaven for donating an abundance of food, we were able to fill take away containers so people had meals to see them through for a few days, your support is always appreciated.

Thank you to Singh restaurant for helping us support the homeless hostels and the B&B’s accommodating our homeless community.

Thank you to Linz, Sandra, Emma, Jo, Saul and Elodie for their delicious home baking.

A special mention to all the supermarkets M&S, Sainsburys & Morrisons for their amazing food donations.

Thank you to Greggs for their support for the last 9 years.

A special thank you to Margaret and everyone in Otley that has supported Margaret with donations of clothes, sleeping bags and toiletries. We would also like to thank Margaret for raising a £1000 for Homeless Hampers, Equally thank you to the Otley Film club for their monetary donation.

Only working together can we make a difference.

Team Hampers

Christmas Day 2024

A family morning serving a hot breakfast to our homeless friends, thank you to Fiona and everyone at St Anne’s for letting us be part of their Christmas Morning.

Merry Christmas to you all. Xx

Sunday 15th December 2024

Tonight a lot of people actually decided to join the queue as our numbers were higher at the static kitchen and lower for the team that walked around with our trolley full of food. Tonight we supported 168 people. We had plenty of food for people to eat and take away for later.

Bit of an unusual night, three separate individuals in tears due to their circumstances.

The first individual had been street homeless for several years, and his brother rescued him off the streets and moved him into his home and took care of him and worked with him so he became drug free. However, 2 weeks ago he left home without letting his brother know he was leaving and made his way back to the city centre. He came to see us last week; he looked really well, and we were pleased to see him; he has a special bond with us. We weren’t aware at that point he had been staying with his brother; later, as we packed up and our volunteers all departed to go home, his brother and a lady came to us looking for the individual, and they explained things to us and wanted the individual to return home. We directed them in the direction he had headed off in but also asked them to return to see us this week as we knew his brother would come back to see us. As requested, they returned. We asked them to wait in the car, and as soon as he showed, we would beckon them over. As predicted, he paid us a visit, and we waved his brother and the lady over. The lady put her arms around the individual and cried in his chest and begged her son to return home; he promised her he was still free from substance abuse, and we believe he is telling the truth. He too stood and cried, and he kept saying he had something to do before he could come home. We pleaded with him to return home; we have a feeling he has returned to look for the girl he was with for several years while he slept rough. He walked away with his mum and brother to talk. Before leaving us his mother hugged us and holding on for a minute or so. Later, he came back to see us to say he promises to go home away from Leeds next Friday, and we will never see him again. Made us feel emotional, but we will be glad for him to return home and continue to build a new life.

The second young man has had real deep issues with a past relationship that led him to start drinking and now fears that he will be made homeless as he can’t afford to pay his rent. We signposted him to where he can seek support. He was just grateful that we had given him the time to listen to him, said I know I drink but I just need someone to give me a chance and listen.

The third young man we first started supporting him 5 years ago, but then he departed to another city. He returned to Leeds 2 weeks ago. He’s a gentle soul, but the language barrier is a problem, and there are some who have taken advantage of his gentle nature. We have asked him to return next week so we can look into supporting him further. The difficulty was we had no way of keeping in contact with him as he didn’t have a phone.

Quite a few of the individuals that came to see us that had been homeless are struggling to manage with their new lives; one individual can’t afford to maintain his rent and buy food, so he visits us as it helps him get by.

During the week, the team has ensured the hostels in Leeds and Bradford continue to receive meals. We are feeding hundreds of people each week.

We have continued to provide food to the food banks we support. The a really busy time for the charity.

Thank you to Catherine for cooking the chicken stew; all appreciated.

Thank you to Ram Board Sikh Temple for supporting us with meals.

Thank you to Punjabi Heaven for donating a delicious curry.

Thank you to Singh restaurant for helping us support the homeless hostels and the B&Bs accommodating our homeless community.

Thank you to Kirsten for the delicious crumble cakes.

Thanks to young Elodie for her lovely cakes. Working towards her Duke of Edinburgh.

Thank you to Shain for first baking the guy loved your baking.

Thank you to Margaret for collecting valuable donations of clothing, hats, gloves, and essentials we require. Thank you to St Joseph’s primary school for supporting Margaret with her selfless work.

Thank you to Helen for donating delicious homemade soup, which is really appreciated in the winter months.

A special thank you to Wakefield Street Kitchen for donating 6 crates of soft drinks. They have pledged to continue supporting us; only working together can we make a difference.

We have had an incredible week of donations. Thank you to each and every one of you; we have received much-needed food donations, clothes, and monetary support.

We are always grateful and proud of all our volunteers for their selfless service.

Hampers

Sunday 1st December 2024

A wet night, but our numbers still remain high. Thank you to Helen for making 10 litres of soup, which we serve while people queue patiently. We ensured everyone ate well and no one went away hungry. We had plenty of meal options, and some came back for second servings.

Tonight we discovered that some of the guys have found a space under a bridge where they are setting up their tents to keep dry and have thrown sleeping bags and clothes over the barriers surrounding them as wind breakers. On our way home, we witnessed the tents, and we know that shortly they will be moved on from their location.

We also noticed that our street homeless community all seem to be in a hurry to collect their meal and go find a safe dry doorway to bed down in.

Lots of people asking for dry sleeping bags, just worries us with the numbers we are seeing and so early into winter the number of sleeping bags we are having to provide. As extra layers, we are providing blankets where we can.

We recently had new blankets donated by a lady who has lost her son, and in his memory she wanted to support the homeless community. We plan to distribute these to people sleeping out in the cold in the early hours of the morning, so we know this special donation goes to those most in need. We will make a special trip out to do this. We can’t give people homes, but we can do what we can to keep them fed and warm.

This week we were asked to provide bedding to a woman recently housed, but she has very little in the house and she can’t afford heating. We provided bedding, pillows, and a duvet. The woman’s excitement was a little overwhelming; she constantly thanked us for making the trip to provide her with some bedding. We later discovered she doesn’t have a bed, and we are working with her key worker to provide her a bed.

It’s been another busy week; we just had to stop providing food parcels as we couldn’t keep up with the demand, so we decided to support several of our local food banks so we could signpost people.

The team has been out delivering meals into the homeless shelter in Leeds and Bradford every day this week.

This week one of the men’s hostels we have supported for several years asked, as their chest freezer has stopped working. Could we help? Tomorrow a new freezer will be delivered.

We would like to thank:

Thank you to Catherine for cooking up a hearty chicken casserole, always popular with our service users.

Thank you to Steve for his amazing continued support.

Thank you to the 2 Leeds Sikh temples for supporting us with meals.

Thank you to Punjabi Heaven for donating an abundance of food. We were able to fill take-away containers so people had meals to see them through for a few days. Your support is always appreciated.

Thank you to Singh Restaurant for helping us support the homeless hostels and the B&B’s accommodating our homeless community.

Thank you to The Back Room for donating us Pizza always favourite with everyone.

Thank you to our baker for the delicious cake and fruit crumbles, Kristen, Linz, Sharon, and the Burley brownies.

Thank you to Wheely Indian for donating samosas, spring rolls, and a vegetable biryani. The guys really appreciate it.

Thank you to Spauls butchers in Burley in Wharfdale for donating their very best sausages, which Jane and Kirsten cooked up with an onion gravy.

A special thank you to Margaret for cooking for us for the first time; your pasta bake was enjoyed by all.

Another special thank you to Jane, just a really special lady; she donated us desperately needed shower gels, and not only that, she organised a donation of deodorants from Unliver. We are humbly grateful to them both, and we are privileged to have Jane as a Homeless Hampers volunteer.

Thank you to Liz and Mal for donating us brand new joggers and socks these really are much needed, we and our homeless friends are grateful.

Thank you to Masato JONES for donating us 40 pairs of warm thermal socks.

A special mention to all the supermarkets, M&S, Sainsburys, and Morrisons for their amazing food donations.

Another special thank you to the library’s and the Chapel House pub that act as our collection points.

Not that we want anyone to be homeless but we do recognise there are so many more men.

Please consider donating mens Winter coats, Joggers, Hats, Gloves, Socks and Boxer Shorts.

For our ladies we just require underwear as we have plenty of ladies clothes.

Nothing needs to be new just in reasonable condition.

Our biggest thanks goes to the Homeless Hampers volunteers; each and every one of them is amazing, and we are privileged to have them as part of the Homeless Hampers family.

We are more than just team Hampers; we do what we do because we care.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1X24MLA7ILBBB…

Hampers