SPECSAVERS in Bromsgrove is thanking customers for helping raise funds to support people experiencing homelessness.
In December, the store started its first-ever Crisis at Christmas campaign, where people could make in-store and online donations, and Specsavers staff volunteered at the Crisis centre.
Mark Gibson, Specsavers Bromsgrove store partner, says: “Our purpose is to change lives through better sight, as well as hearing, as we know all too well the impact that uncorrected vision or undetected sight conditions can have on people’s quality of life.
“The fact that so many people experiencing homelessness needs glasses but struggle to access eyecare is just something we can’t ignore.
“We are very proud to be supporting Crisis to help support its tremendous and much needed work, particularly the strides the charity is making to improve access to healthcare for people experiencing homelessness.”
Research has revealed that more than half of people experiencing homelessness have unresolved issues with their vision, with a lack of permanent address often being the barrier to accessing such healthcare.
To bottle the issue at hand, Specsavers will run eye care clinics in five Crisis’ centres this Christmas, offering free eye tests and providing free glasses to people in need.
Matt Downie, Crisis Chief Executive, says: “Experiencing homelessness has an extremely negative impact on people’s health.
“With rising costs continuing to impact people’s ability to pay bills and rent, we fear that the number of people facing homelessness will grow over the difficult months ahead.
“This is why the need for our Christmas and year-round services has never been more important and why we need as many people as possible to stand with us.
“The valued support from Specsavers and its staff will help us continue to help people who desperately need it this Christmas and beyond.’
Specsavers is also supporting the Big Issue Group as part of a broader campaign to break down the barriers that people experiencing poverty and homelessness face in receiving eye care.
