When visiting Broadmead you may have noticed two contactless donation points. There is one outside Tesco Metro and the other is near Primark. They were were launched in May to make it easy for you to make a donation of £2 to Bristol’s Safer off the Streets campaign.

In the first month alone you donated over £1,000 and by the end of June 2018 that figure had risen to £9,269 including £1,084 raised over the very hot months of May and June. That money enabled the Safer off the Streets campaign to fund around 545 night shelter beds, which equates to keeping all of the shelters running for over a week

Safer off the Streets

Launched in November 2016, Safer off the Streets (SOS) aims to raise money for Bristol’s four night shelters. They offer 70 emergency bed spaces, providing somewhere safe and supportive  for people to stay while volunteers and staff help them find accommodation and assist with health and employment issues.

The night shelters are run by St Mungo’s, The Julian Trust, Caring in Bristol and Crisis Centre Ministries, working in partnership with Bristol City Council.

#Give2Quid to help reduce rough sleeping

When you shop in Bristol Shopping Quarter you now have a quick, easy way to donate £2 to SOS Bristol, using a contactless card or Apple Pay.

The Broadmead BID (Business Improvement District) is supporting SOS by donating the use of the units.

Speaking at the launch, David Ingerslev, Project Manager at St Mungo’s and Rough Sleeping Partnership lead, said:

“The #SOSBristol campaign has raised nearly £40,000. And we’re pleased with the support from the community.

“We’re delighted that Broadmead BID has donated the use of the units to us. There is nothing else like this in Bristol. They make donating easier for shoppers who may not carry small change but who feel compelled to take action to support people they see rough sleeping. It is simple, immediate and will directly help people to be safer off the streets.

“It is free for people to stay at our night shelters. But we rely heavily on fundraising and volunteers. The donation points will help bring new support to the #SOSBristol campaign.

“We’d also encourage people to continue to make referrals via StreetLink.org.uk. This helps us reach people quickly and can help us ensure no one has a second night out on the streets of Bristol.”

Jo Hawkins from The Broadmead BID commented:

“We were very keen to work with these forward-thinking charities to introduce an innovative way for people to donate to services which support homeless people.”

 

Additional contactless donation points have since been installed at the Information Desk in Cabot Circus and at Bristol Energy on the Harbourside.

Find out about volunteering at one of Bristol’s night shelters HERE.