Emmaus Village Carlton has pledged to donate £100 every week to help provide food for Northampton’s rough sleepers in temporary accommodation during the COVID-19 crisis.
Prior to lockdown, our Rucksack Stomp group volunteered every Wednesday evening, offering help to homeless people in the town centre by carrying large rucksacks filled with food and useful supplies to hand out.
The team are all individuals who have experienced homelessness and are now being supported by Emmaus Village Carlton. Our charity, based near Carlton, helps 42 formerly homeless people by giving them a home for as long as they need it, meaningful work and an opportunity to regain lost self-esteem to help rebuild their lives.
Now temporarily unable to help out in person, Emmaus Village Carlton’s Rucksack Stomp team is donating £100 every week to Northampton Hope Centre. The centre is coordinating efforts to help feed local rough sleepers in temporary housing.
Christian (pictured) is a key member of the Rucksack Stomp group. Previously homeless for 16 months, he is now being supported by Emmaus Village Carlton. He said: “We really wanted to do something to help because we can’t get out to offer support ourselves right now. It’s great that people are temporarily off the streets but they don’t necessarily have access to food.
“We really hope that the money we’re donating each week will help towards making sure everyone has the best chance of staying healthy in these uncertain times.”
A key ethos within Emmaus is the idea of ‘paying it forward’ by helping others; we call this ‘solidarity‘.
We’ve recently stepped up to donate fabric to local sewing groups, to be made into PPE for NHS staff, and also joined millions of others around the world by sponsoring Captain Tom Moore’s exceptional fundraising efforts.