Words by Smiley Team
Across Manchester, ‘tap to donate’ points are arriving to tackle homelessness across the city. It’s a timely solution to a pressing problem, considering that every night, roughly 2688 people sleep on Manchester’s streets, and since 2010 the number of homeless people in the city has more than doubled.
To help these rough sleepers rebuild their lives, the homelessness organisation, the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, has installed 12 points at which passers-by are invited to use their contactless card or phone to donate £3 per tap.
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“With autumn and winter on the way we are making sure services are prepared,” explained Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, “but even a small donation of £3 can help ensure charities are also ready to respond.”
As the charity’s patron, the Mayor has made a monthly donation of 15% of his salary since 2017 when he was elected.
“I continue to donate 15% of my salary to the charity and I urge you to do whatever you can to help tackle rough sleeping and homelessness across the city region,” he added.
In addition to the donation points, the charity has partnered with digital media company JCDecaux UK to install 17 digital communication hubs across the city’s centre. These include defibrillators, accessible payphones and free charging points for whoever may need them.
“These Communication Hubs are part of the community and provide a range of public services that are funded by advertising, including life-saving defibrillators and public messaging,” Phil Drye of JCDecaux UK.
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This is just the start of a wider effort to help people out of homelessness. To expand the initiative, the charity hopes to gain support from other companies. With additional funding, they plan to install more devices across the region, for which they are also seeking venues to host them.
“We're on a mission to achieve real change within the homelessness system right across our city region,” said Vanessa Haworth, head of the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity, “but we cannot do it without the support of companies, businesses and the generous Greater Manchester public.”
The Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity is a network of campaigners raising funds to launch innovative projects to tackle homelessness around the city.
To support their work donate via gmmayorscharity.org.uk/donate.
