Leicester Mercury

Help was there when cupboard was bare

CHARITY HAS A CHRISTMAS APPEAL

- By ASHA PATEL asha.patel@reachplc.com @ashac_patel justgiving.com

to leave home due to his vulnerabil­ity. “It was a very depressing time for us, like I’m sure it was for everyone. But we WHEN a woman found herself facing didn’t think we would get through it,” extreme hardship after becoming a she said. carer for her elderly dad, a charity was Because the family was unable to go there to help. out to buy groceries, Arif Voraji, co

Unable to work, the 45-year-old, founder of Help the Homeless, and his from Leicester, had no money coming team stepped in to help. in while she waited for universal credit. Throughout the pandemic, the char

She had moved in with her dad, who ity has extended its support to more requires round-the-clock care and was people in need and was able to donate “getting by” on his pension. food parcels and other household

In their worst moments, the pair items to struggling individual­s and were left with empty kitchen cupfamilie­s. boards. The charity also came to the rescue

“At the time, we were a bit too proud when the woman’s father’s bed broke. to ask for help. I didn’t want to be She did not want to ask the charity judged,” the woman said. and instead shared a post on Facebook

“We were just trying to manage on asking for help. what we had. It was the worst time in The next day, Help the Homeless my life.” delivered a bed to her dad’s front door.

It was then she came across a Face“They have all been amazing. They book post about Leicester charity, Help don’t let you get back to that position the Homeless. where you only have one tin of some

“I’d seen a few things on Facebook thing left in the cupboard. before but hadn’t thought to contact “Arif is so selfless and he works so them,” she said. hard,” she said.

“But when I did, they were amazing. Ahead of Christmas, Help the HomeThey made us feel so much better less is appealing for donations that will about asking for help.” go towards helping people facing simi

Later in the year, ahead of the birth of larly difficult situations. her granddaugh­ter, the mother-of-one In light of the second national lockwas unable to provide any essentials for down, the charity has shared a number her daughter. of appeals across social media.

“I got in touch with Help the HomeOne of its recent campaigns asks for less and within 24 hours they had evemonetar­y donations which will pay for rything we needed,” she said. household goods for struggling families.Thisyear,whenthefir­stnational lockdown was implemente­d, she found Hoping to raise £10,000, the charity herself struggling again. has a Just Giving campaign. Search for

While caring for her 79-year-old dad, Help the Homeless Leicester at: who is in a wheelchair, she was unable

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