Walking past rough sleepers, many people want to help, but feel uncomfortable giving money for fear it might perpetuate bad habits. When Scarlett Montanaro saw Kensington & Chelsea’s posters claiming that giving to rough sleepers contributes to their early death she was enraged: “It made us so angry for them to say ‘don’t give money’ but then not provide a solution,” she says. “But if that is why people aren’t giving then let’s provide a way that they can.”
With Charley Cramer, a friend who like her works full time in the advertising industry, she set up an online shop that provides useful items for the homeless. The name Crack + Cider comes from something a rough sleeper said to them: “People don’t give me money because they think I’ll spend it on crack and cider.”
After speaking to shelters and local councils, the pair came up with a selection of the most useful items for rough sleepers, such as backpacks, jackets and hats, which are then distributed to shelters around the capital.
Last Christmas the charity attracted £35,000 (6,000 items), and this year they started to sell canine packs (dogfood and dog coats) since very few homeless shelters take dogs. Now they’re working on expanding the charity to San Francisco. “It’s been very hard work, don’t get me wrong, but at the same time it is manageable,” says Montanaro. “It’s proved to us that people can make a huge difference if they want to.”
