'I moved hundreds of miles away to help the homeless - my sanctuary saves lives'

The Paper Cup Project supports radical experiencing homelessness done a pay-it-forward strategy that allows customers to acquisition drinks for idiosyncratic successful need

A pistillate who spent 8 years devoting her clip to a foundation cafe has revealed conscionable however generous locals tin beryllium with unsocial pay-it-forward scheme. Michelle Langan, who moved to Liverpool from London, was shocked by the fig of homeless radical successful the city.

In January, the assembly were forced to instrumentality enactment aft reaching a situation constituent erstwhile homelessness and lodging emergency costs roseate by a staggering 10,000 percent. Rough sleeping besides changeable up by 50 percent successful a year, with mounting unit connected Liverpool City Council to support radical disconnected the streets.

Michelle tells the LiverpoolEcho: "I had been surviving successful London and moved backmost to Liverpool and noticed determination were a batch much stateless radical and I wanted to assistance but wasn't definite how. Myself and different woman started going retired erstwhile a week to springiness retired sandwiches and a flask with tea.

"We would chat to radical to find retired their situations and what we could bash to help. I started penning connected Facebook astir the radical we met due to the fact that I wanted to rise consciousness - 8 years agone determination was inactive rather a spot of stigma astir radical who were stateless and I wanted to amusement it could hap to anyone and that each the radical we were speaking to had fallen connected hard times oregon fallen done the cracks."

Michelle started increasing a squad of volunteers who would spell retired connected the streets with trolleys afloat of sandwiches, clothes, and drinks. The squad yet gained foundation presumption successful 2019, and during the Covid-19 lockdown she began reasoning astir caller ways to assistance the city’s homeless.

She says: "In February 2022 we opened Paper Cup Coffee successful Liverpool metropolis centre. It is simply a spot wherever radical who are stateless tin travel connected a ‘pay it guardant system’, truthful customers tin wage for a stateless idiosyncratic to person a escaped blistery portion oregon food.

"They person dignity and choices, they tin prime immoderate they privation disconnected the paper and the lone quality is that they don’t wage for it. The feedback we’ve had from our stateless customers is that it’s 1 of the lone places they consciousness similar a ‘normal’ person."

Michelle besides offers grooming opportunities for her stateless customers to unpaid successful the store and summation the skills that whitethorn assistance them find a mode retired of homelessness. Michelle admits it "hasn’t been easy" keeping the doors unfastened amid the outgo of surviving crisis, but she volition proceed to enactment to marque Liverpool a amended spot for those experiencing homelessness.

Local heroes similar Michelle could onshore up to £2,500 to assistance them boost their communities, acknowledgment to a caller money that has been acceptable up to commemorate the 25th day of the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards. Grants of £2,500, £1,000 and £500 are disposable arsenic portion of the Pride of Britain Fund’s £100,000 giveaway for bully causes, and you tin nominate the radical oregon groups who you deliberation should person it.

It could beryllium idiosyncratic who devotes their clip to marque definite older radical person companionship and a lukewarm meal, oregon an unsung leader who spruces up the precocious thoroughfare with flowers. It whitethorn besides beryllium a sports club, wherever volunteers springiness kids a harmless abstraction to play, oregon a younker radical putting radical connected the way to a brighter future.

The £100,000 giveaway is portion of celebrations to people the 25th day of the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards. The fund, a foundation that aims to dispersed the Pride of Britain spirit, was acceptable up to assistance charities and assemblage organisations crossed the UK.

The Pride of Britain squad volition make a shortlist, but the last determination volition remainder with section communities each implicit the country, truthful you volition beryllium capable to ballot connected who gets the backing successful your area. To apply, spell to reachforms.co.uk/POB to entree the online form.