A husband and wife want to mobilise a network of volunteers to dish out blankets, clothes and food to the homeless in Weston-super-Mare.
Mike Loud, who has worked in security for eight years, says he has seen too many vulnerable and homeless people injured or subjected to abuse.
His experiences have moved him to set up a town-wide scheme to give out clothing and bedding to homeless people and signpost them to support services if they need further help.
Mike said: “I’ve worked in security for eight years and have seen a lot of things happen to people who are vulnerable and homeless and I’ve never been in a position to be able to help.
“With the skills and staff I have now we could put together a team to support people. We are currently liaising with local councils and agencies on ways we can support and look after the homeless in Weston.
“We are looking for other companies and businesses to support this to enable us to provide blankets, jumpers, socks and warm food.
“Our team will be going out a number of times a week and engaging with the homeless people in Weston to see what we can try to do to make their lives a little bit better.
“We understand that many have problems with drugs and alcohol and we are currently engaging with Addaction and the Bristol Drugs Project to see if we can get these vulnerable people some help and support along the way.”
Mike and his wife Emma own Titan Medical Services – an independent ambulance company which specialises in the night time industry and high risk events.
He has meetings planned with churches, Weston’s night assessment centre and the street pastors to try to co-ordinate efforts.
More: Weston’s first night assessment centre given green light.
He said: “We want as many people involved as possible. We don’t want to do this for just one month, we want to have a support network going for as long as possible. People are often around more in the day, so if street wardens come across someone, they can let us know where they are so we can offer help.
“We want people to know we are there if they want support.”
Mike would like to hear from anyone who is keen to help or can offer storage space for donations.
To find out more, contact Mike at mike@titanmedical.co.uk
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