A homeless charity has handed 55,000 hot meals to the needy in Scotland’s biggest city in the last year.
Glasgow mum Laura McSorley started Kindness Homeless Street Team with just £5 shortly before coronavirus hit.
And during its second full year, the charity has branched out to reach even more vulnerable people, helping furnish hundreds of new homes to and giving dozens of desperate families a Christmas to remember.
But bitter temperatures and rising energy bills have also brought more children to the service in recent months, with a spike in parents struggling with fuel poverty.
Laura said: “About 70% of our friends who come and see us are in temporary accommodation.
“Right now we have lots of children coming with their families and we’re seeing parents who are choosing whether to heat their house or feed their kids.
“They know with our help they can at least keep their children fed.
“For a time we had a period where it was quietening down but from the end of October onwards our numbers have fluctuated again to the highest of what we give out at any time.”
Laura was honoured by the Prime Minister in July last year after her small venture to provide food and essential items to vulnerable people spiralled during the pandemic.
Now with a team of dozens of volunteers, the charity runs a soup kitchen four days a week in George Square, funded entirely by donations.
As well as providing tens of thousands of hot meals in the past year, Laura’s team have delivered almost 8000 food parcels and furnished almost 400 homes for those who have been offered permanent accommodation.
She said: “We have guys who have been in the homeless cycle and are offered a tenancy but don’t have anything.
“We’ve turned up at properties with sheets of paper on floorboards.
“Our delivery guys work 10 hours a day picking up second hand furniture and we’ve just bought a third vehicle because the demand is outrageous.”
The charity has also managed to support 45 of the city’s most needy families by delivering Christmas dinner, toys and gifts to those who can’t afford them.
Earlier in the year they helped dozens of families get back to school ready with new clothes and haircuts and frequently provide birthday gifts for underprivileged kids.
And despite Laura still juggling her job as a pensions manager with the 50 hours a week she dedicates to the charity, there is even more she wants to achieve.
Laura said: “We’ve been trying a few new incentives this year to reach those who are suffering from poverty who we may not see in our soup kitchen.
“There are so many people still in the homeless system living in hotels and temporary accommodation but it’s not eliminating the problem, it’s just covering the cracks.
“Everything we give is purely thanks to the people who support what we do.
“We have seen people come full circle through our service. There are some who we met camping in town and they are now helping us and distributing food and supporting others.
“We’re just trying to keep that wheel turning and keeping these guys from going backwards. We give them the strength and determination to believe in themselves and know they can do it with a wee bit of support.
“I still want to do more and try to look at settling up rehabilitation cafes and drop in centres but for now we will keep doing everything we can for those who need us.”
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