‘Don’t go hungry’ Generous couple’s invitation
AGOOD Samaritan has opened up his Gloucestershire home to those who cannot afford to turn the heating on or put food on the table. Gareth Leng has offered to open the door of his terraced house so local people caught up in the cost of living crisis don’t have to go to bed cold and hungry.
Gareth and his wife Rubianne, 27, say they cannot sleep at night knowing that some families living in their market town might not have eaten or are sitting in the cold. So they have put out an invite to people who are struggling to join them in their modest two-bedroom terrace.
The couple, who have three children aged between six and a few months old, say they know how tough life can be for families with young children because a few years ago their landlord sold their rented house and they were made homeless. Although they eventually managed to get back on their feet they have seen their bills soar by hundreds of pounds every month.
And Gareth, who works at Marks and Spencer’s and Rubianne, who works at the National Star College, fear many people are in an even worse position because of the cost of living crisis.
The 29-year-old was so upset that he eventually sent out a social media message to anyone in Tewkesbury struggling to cope.
“I would like to invite you to my home,” he wrote. “Please don’t go hungry, please don’t go cold my family and I are here to help support you.
“We’re not well off but by pulling together in times like these is what really makes us human. The government might not care but me and my family do. No judging, no lecture and completely private. Please don’t suffer this winter, we’re all in this together.”
Since doing so he has helped five people who sent him private messages, including a parent who had not eaten because they could only just about afford food for their children. Messages of support flooded in praising Gareth, father of Charlie, aged four, Delilah aged six and Ezra 15 weeks, for the kind gesture. But he says he could not stand by and watch because trying to escape the homelessness cycle was the hardest part of their lives and seeing so much pain in the world was starting to affect him.
The final straw came when he heard about Elsie, a pensioner who went viral after telling TV viewers she could only afford to eat one meal a day and was forced to use her free pass to ride on a bus all day to keep warm
“That’s what really broke me and that’s why I needed to reach out,” he said. “No one should have to do that in order to survive. I can’t go to bed every night knowing someone local hasn’t eaten. I just can’t sleep knowing this is happening, I know I’m not offering a lot but it’s something. “
Rubianne says she is proud of her husband for being so kind and messages of support included: “There needs to be more people like you in the world” and “This is humanity at its best”. And Gareth says since he issued the invitation around a dozen other people in the area have also offered to help local families in difficulty. He said he would like to see kindness to strangers becoming more widespread.
“I’ve managed to help around five people,” said Gareth who has previously helped struggling parents put on Christmas for their children. “It’s only five people but that’s five people who will go to bed warm and with a full tummy.
“I feel like my message has opened up a lot of people’s hearts and the amount of people offering a hand has been really amazing. If it’s one thing I’ve learnt in life, then it’s the little things that make the big things happen.”
I would like to invite you to my home. Please don’t go hungry, please don’t go cold Gareth Leng