In Wales, a group of volunteers has converted a double-decker bus into a night shelter for the homeless. The bus contains 12 bunk beds, two toilets, two showers, a kitchen, and even a small lounge area.
For the past four years, the Helping Open People’s Eyes (HOPE) group has helped the homeless in Gwent. However, about a year ago, they saw a project in Bristol, where a bus was converted by Jasper Thompson and his Bristol Home for the Night campaign. This converted bus inspired HOPE to start fundraising to buy a bus. “It is getting more and more common, and we are seeing a lot more people on the streets,” said Ian Smith. He noticed the increasing number of homeless people sleeping on the streets and wanted to help them.
Ian Smith and his wife Tammy are the couple who lead HOPE. Ian began fundraising for the project in October 2018. HOPE is not a registered charity; therefore, most of the funds were raised through donations and raffles.
Eventually, Ian raised enough to buy a working, second-hand, double-decker bus for about £5,000. The team set to work converting it, which took around 12 months to complete and cost overall nearly £20,000. “It has been hard work but worth it,” Ian said.
The classic red London double-decker mobile shelter is now complete and will officially launch soon. The group plans to use the bus for a few nights a week at first, but in the future may look into doing it every day.
HOPE launched a crowdfunding campaign online, which has collected £1,923 in donations so far (at time of publication), their goal is to raise £8,000. “But we are still looking for funding. To take the bus from Cefn Fforest to Newport is £60 in fuel,” Ian added. For more information on the HOPE project, check out their website.
