The Kindness Street Team brings cheer to Glasgow’s homeless
New charity gives hope and essential items to the vulnerable in Glasgow
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I said ‘This will turn into something amazing’ – and it did!
IT’S a dreich late summer evening in Glasgow. The city centre shows glimpses of normal life reemerging – a trickle of commuters, shoppers and teenagers stroll down Buchanan Street and out of the glassy new front of Queen Street station.
In George Square, about 50 people have gathered in an orderly queue, although it’s unclear to passersby what they’re waiting for.
A white van rolls up at 7pm on the dot.
People materialise wearing hot pink high-vis vests reading “Kindness.” They unload crate after crate, arrange metal barriers and set up tables and a tent.
Kindness Homeless Street Team are here, as they have been throughout the pandemic. The group helps the homeless, asylum seekers and anyone needing assistance, whether it be for food or furniture.
Laura Mcsorley, 37, a Glasgow native and a pensions manager by day, founded Kindness in October 2019. She had experience volunteering in soup kitchens and wanted to start her own initiative.
“I’ll always remember my sister saying to me, ‘Laura, why are you doing this?’ because I was giving up every hour of my time to find suitable clothing and equipment, to pay for things myself, because I was just one person.”
“I said, ‘You need to wait and watch. This will turn into something amazing.’ And it did!”
On average, 100 people show up at Kindness’s soup kitchen four nights a week in George Square. One formerly homeless man and his partner say they come every night.
Volunteers arrange a tented area for people to gather items from. The first table has hot pasta donated from restaurants, plus fruit. Others offer canned goods, toiletries, clothing, hot drinks and pastries.
Laura started Kindness with fortnightly “street walks” in the city centre. Together with friends and family, she walked the city centre with suitcases of essentials, including sandwiches and clothing, and offered to chat.
Rosie, 32, met Laura on one of these street walks. She had been rough sleeping for three and a half years and was addicted to drugs. She is now sober and living in temporary housing which Kindness helped furnish.
“I’m glad I’m one of the people that have been able to benefit from this,” Rosie says.
“Any time I say thank you to Laura, I’ll say, ‘Thank you so much for everything you have done and continue to do for myself and the homeless.’”
Laura started a Kindness Facebook page and posted appeals for help and donations. It snowballed into a group of 6000 members and counting.
“Social media has been the lifeline. If we put a simple appeal out, we’ve got it covered within seconds.”
Businesses have come through in support. Local restaurants, including Eusebi’s Deli and Mancini Street Food, and 22 chefs cook meals. Peter Vardy motors leased a van to the team and supermarkets give food.
Around 60 to 80 regular volunteers sort donations, staff the mobile soup kitchen, do street walks and collect supplies. Some street friends volunteer themselves.
The mix of volunteers tonight include 20-somethings, professionals and retired folk. Most discovered Kindness on Facebook and began volunteering after the pandemic. They were spurred on by eagerness to help others, plus restlessness and the desire to socialise in lockdown.
It’s been a 12-hour day for volunteer Andy, starting at 8am driving for Kindness and working from home with his job in finance. He and his 18-year-old son Regan are in charge of the hot food table tonight.
Throughout the evening, volunteers and people passing through share friendly banter and familiarity.
Martha, a retired nurse manning the toiletries table, first donated to Kindness then began volunteering. She explains why it’s important to strike up conversation – it encourages people to feel comfortable to ask for help.
Later in the evening, a young woman shares that she is fleeing an abusive household. Two Yemeni men ask
where they can get English lessons. Men ask for toiletries for their partners and children.
One person sought assistance for an 18-year-old woman with stage four cancer living in a shell of a house. Over one weekend in April, volunteers added new plaster, carpeting, blinds and furnishings. Volunteers drove her to the hospital for appointments, and she and Laura keep in regular contact.
Laura estimates Kindness has furnished 70 properties through donations. The group also delivers food parcels.
Kindness has been running for only 10 months and the Covid-19 crisis marks its midpoint. When the nation went into lockdown, Kindness stayed on the streets.
“It wasn’t questionable,” says Laura. “I decided that we’re going to step up and do it every evening to make sure that these people were fed; they had a hot meal, some toiletries and clothing.”
Then Downing Street came calling. In June, the Prime Minister awarded Laura and the Kindness initiative a Point of Light award for helping the people of Glasgow.
Looking ahead, the group is working on becoming an official charity. Laura has big plans, including a charity shop and a drop-in centre for courses and skills building.
“The satisfying thing for me is knowing that we’ve managed to reach these people, and knowing they are happy with what we’ve done.”
“When the nation went into lockdown, streets” Kindness stayed on the