Help for the homeless this winter

Piles of clothing, toiletries, food items and sleeping equipment have been delivered to three separate homeless charities by a ‘caring lady’ in Sussex.

After a particularly cold day in December the area manager for Caring Lady Funeral Directors decided she needed to do what she could to help those who don’t have a home this Christmas.

With help from colleagues across the Sussex branches, Sector Operations Manager Laura Cullen has donated more than £2,200 worth of goods to three local homeless charities.

Laura, who lives in Goring, said: “We live in an area where you can’t turn a blind eye to people on the streets. So we got our heads together to see how we could make the most out of the money we had.

“All of the charities have been very grateful. Speaking to each of them was really special but also meant we could learn more about how they help people.

“For example the Clock Tower Sanctuary spends a lot of time cleaning people’s clothes so we bought litres and litres of laundry liquid and fabric conditioner.

“We are lucky to have so many charities in the area who devote time and energy in helping the homeless. The donations were our way of saying thank you.”

Glenwood Lodge, a homeless hostel in Brighton, was given donations of gloves, socks, shower gel, plates, cutlery and 48 individual gifts for each of the homeless people in their care.

T-shirts, tracksuit bottoms, jeans, rucksacks, sleeping bags, laundry liquid, fabric conditioner, toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, dishwasher tablets, anti-bacterial wipes, anti-bacterial soap and yoga mats were donated to The Clock Tower Sanctuary which helps young homeless people in Brighton.

Finally, tea towels, mugs, cutlery, coffee, sugar, cooking oil, soft drinks, toilet cleaner and other treats were donated to Turning Tides, a community led homelessness organisation in Worthing.

The donations were made by Caring Lady Funeral Directors branches in Brighton, Goring by Sea, Hove, Peacehaven, Shoreham by Sea and Worthing.