Terry aims to keep homeless supplied with pants and socks
HE WILL BE HANDING THEM OUT TO ROUGH SLEEPERS AT CITY CENTRE SOUP KITCHEN
A MAN will be working with a soup kitchen to help distribute 1,500 pairs of fresh pants and socks to homeless people in Nottingham this winter.
The initiative comes as up to 20 new people are being found sleeping rough in the city every single week, with fears the coronavirus pandemic is creating a new generation of homeless people amid job losses and relationship breakdowns.
Terry Galloway, who spent time in the care system and is now director of a letting agency and CEO of a housing association called Norman Galloway Homes, has helped to house the homeless before.
He is now working to change the way children who leave care are housed, providing them with their own flat as well as job and work experience opportunities to help them retain tenancies in the long run.
His work has not stopped there, however, as he now hopes to supply Nottingham’s rough sleepers with 1,500 pairs of clean socks and pants this winter and beyond.
Mr Galloway said: “There are a lot of homeless people now, there is a lot of work the council is doing and people have been put up in hotels, but they still do not have any clean clothes.
“Imagine not being able to change your underpants. Especially at Christmas when there are people saying ‘oh, just another pair of socks’. But for someone who does not have that, it is like they have won the lottery.
“I am going to source [the socks and pants] myself for December and hopefully it gains traction and we can get a year’s supply. I have got a supplier for it and it is cheap.”
Mr Galloway will be distributing the pants and socks on the days the Guru Nanak’s Mission soup kitchen goes into the city to provide rough sleepers with a hot meal.
Guru Nanak’s Mission stopped serving food for the first time in six years on March 12 this year in a bid to prevent a potential outbreak of Covid-19 in the city, particularly among the vulnerable homeless community. However, the group, formed by Nottingham’s Sikh community, has resumed its popular service where it serves more than 200 meals each week to those in need.
A spokesperson for Guru Nanak’s Mission said: “Over the last few weeks we have spoken with families struggling to make ends meet, and people who haven’t eaten for days. “These are real people facing challenges that many of us do not realise exist in this country. “We can, however, be hopeful and optimistic that we can help and support these people as best as we can and give them some strength, optimism and hope.” Mr Galloway has set up a Justgiving page to raise £1,200 for his scheme. The money, if raised, will then be used to purchase enough socks and pants to last into the new year. So far he has raised £810.
He added: “Guru Nanak’s Mission gives out food three times per week and I thought we could be down there with them. They would give out the food and we would do the clothing.”
Imagine not being able to change your underpants. For someone who does not have that, it is like they have won the lottery
Terry Galloway