Since February 2020, I, and, occasionally my friend Fiona have spent a weekend every month, depending on other commitments, assembling 10-20 care packages and distributing them to the homeless of London.

Although I have told a few odd people, I have stayed silent about this project on social media. But why? Before we get to that, let’s go back to the beginning.

The Genesis

In February 2020, just before Covid hit, I was lucky enough to visit New Zealand. While I was primarily seeing my friend in the Coromandel Peninsula, I also spent a few days travelling around on my own. This included staying in Auckland.

I arrived in Auckland late in the evening, and I had an early start the next day. I headed into a supermarket for a ready-made sandwich that I could eat for breakfast. But alas there were no sandwiches. Only the components to make a sandwich: buns, cheese, ham etc. I figured I would use what I needed and leave the rest in the hostel fridge.

However, when I was walking around Auckland, I noticed a lot of homeless. Instead, I made four or five sandwiches and gave them to the men I saw.

I’ve been looking for more proactive ways of helping London’s homeless, so I figured I could do something similar back home. At the end of February, I assembled twenty care packages and with Fiona’s help, we distributed them to the homeless of Central London. After that the pandemic happened, but in the summer we resumed and we’ve been doing it on and off ever since.

The packages

Over the years I have refined the contents of the packages based upon what I’ve learned and my experience. The contents include:

An orange/banana – not apples as these could be too hard for those with bad teeth
Toothbrush and toothpaste – I don’t feel human until I’ve brushed my teeth in the morning
Cheese salad sandwich – I used to do a ham option too, but it made sense to make the packs completely vegetarian especially with the rise of Muslim refugees.
Chocolate bar – chocolate makes most people happy!
Bottle of water – in the early days, I’ve been asked whether I have any drinks which I didn’t.
Socks – the most requested item at homeless shelters and the least donated
menstrual pads – if homeless women can’t get pads, they go to public bathrooms and stuff toilet paper up themselves
Contents/allergy list

And I package all this in a transparent sandwich bag, so everybody knows what they’re getting at a glance. And, of course, I give them the option of accepting the packages. If they don’t want it, that’s their choice. The sad reality of homelessness is that there is over 300,000 homeless in England today, so if one person refuses the package, I can always give it somebody else.

Why have I never talked about this?

Two words. Performative activism. In this social media age, it is virtually impossible to share your charitable ventures without being accused of having done it for the views. You only need to look at how the internet reacted to Mr Beast paying for the construction of 100 wells across Africa.

I don’t disagree with this sentiment. Sure you get lots of people who post these things just to get clout. But, at the end of the day, if they have still done this charitable act, does it really matter whether it was for nefarious reasons? Sure Mr Beast could have been embodying a white saviour archetype, but he has still initiated a project to provide clean drinking water to 500,000 people. Not to mention, he has also fund-raised 300k for local organisations.

And this attitude also ignores how one person’s good actions can inspire other people to do the same. I only got the idea of doing these packages after hearing Youtubers say you should buy the homeless food instead of giving them money. They inspired me and if I can inspire people to do the same then all the better. And that is my overall intention with this. Fiona and I know we’re not going to cure homelessness. We’re providing a short-term solution to a long-term problem. But if we can stop one homeless man from going hungry for an hour or one homeless woman from stuffing toilet paper up herself, then it makes it all worthwhile.

Why am I talking about it now?

Because I’m starting to see how my actions are having a positive ripple effect. At the end of one my 2022 distributions, a young Scottish couple approached me and said they would do the same when they returned home. That is my ethos coming true. Rather than sitting at home signing online petitions, I’m going out there and taking proactive action to help people. If I can inspire other people to do the same then great.

Secondly, in December, I casually commented about this project on Instagram. And a kind-hearted American man donated £35 to my cause. This blew me away. He’s in Pennsylvania. He has no skin in the game yet he was willing to donate to my cause, completely unprompted.

There is a definite attitude of “I’m just one person, I can’t do anything.” Sure, that can be true, but Fiona and I are just two people and we help ten to twenty people a month. And if everybody who said I’m just one person what can I do actually did something, maybe we could change everything for the better.

P.S

I also want to shout out the excellent charity Refugee Community Kitchen which I volunteer for. Throughout the week they cook up big batches of food and distribute it to the homeless in different areas of London. They regularly feed over a thousand people a month. What I do is nothing compared to this fantastic charity. If you can donate or volunteer then please do so. And if you know somebody who could use a free, nutritious meal please direct them to one of the services below. Their ethos is to feed without judgement and that’s exactly what they do.

Camden Town station – Tuesday evening from 7-8pm

Goodge Street Station – Thursday evenings from 7-8pm

Old Street – St John the Baptist Church New North Road/Pitfield Road in Hoxton – Saturday lunchtimes – from 1.30 – 2.30pm

Swiss Cottage station: Friday evenings 6.30-7.3opm

Archway station: Wednesday evenings 6.30-7.30pm