“Mum, what happens to people who don’t have homes?"
That simple question prompted a 7-year-old schoolgirl to embark on a mission to help homeless families and children across Northern Ireland.
Violet Montgomery decided she had to help those less fortunate and so began to create starter-packs for families within charity Depaul’s services and those moving on from homeless accommodation in to their own homes.
The Saintfield schoolgirl sought the support of family and friends, her school and her local church. She asked them to donate items which would make up these starter-packs.
Violet made over 70 packs and recently paid a visit to Depaul’s Cloverhill family service in Belfast where she met with some of the children and parents living there.
Violet's mum Helen explained: “After a simple question Violet took it upon herself to help those experiencing homelessness. The whole thing was her idea from start to finish and we were delighted to visit some of the families who will benefit.
"We must say a big thank you to the families and staff at Depaul for allowing us to visit Cloverhill and hand over some of the starter-packs.”
Depaul’s Senior Services Manager for Northern Ireland Deirdre Canavan said: “We were delighted to welcome Violet and her family to our Cloverhill service recently and to kindly accept her donations.
"It will greatly help the families we work with. To see a young girl, do something so meaningful for homeless families is truly an inspiration. We want to say thank you to Violet and her family and all those who helped her along the way.”
Violet was accompanied by her Mum and sister Charlotte on her visit to Depaul’s Cloverhill family service. Cloverhill has been supporting homeless families for over 10 years and is run in partnership with Radius Housing.
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