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This double-decker bus was converted to give homeless people somewhere to sleep

Source: IanSmith/WalesOnline

Built by volunteers with the Helping Open People’s Eyes group, the HOPE Bus has 12 bunk beds, two showers, two toilets, a kitchen and a lounge.

Built by volunteers the bus has space for 12 people

This converted double-decker bus will soon arrive on the streets of Newport, Wales, to offer the homeless a temporary place to sleep. The bus has bed space for 12 people, as well as two showers, two toilets, a kitchen and a small lounge area. It has been built by volunteers with the Helping Open People’s Eyes (HOPE) group using money collected over more than a year of tireless fundraising. The project is now in its finishing stages and volunteers are confident it will be on the road as a mobile shelter for street sleepers in the coming weeks.

Bus driver Ian Smith and his wife Tammy from Cefn Fforest, Blackwood, had the idea for the night shelter after visiting a similar project in Bristol last year.
Night bus? Bus driver Ian Smith and his wife Tammy from Cefn Fforest, Blackwood, had the idea for the night shelter after visiting a similar project in Bristol last year. Source: HopeBus.uk

Ian, a self-employed minibus driver, began raising money for his project in October last year

Bus driver Ian Smith and his wife Tammy from Cefn Fforest, Blackwood, had the idea for the night shelter after visiting a similar project in Bristol last year.

"We have been feeding the homeless for the last four years," Ian, 44, told WalesOnline. "It is getting more and more common and we are seeing a lot more people on the streets. I first seen Jasper Thompson and his Bristol Home for the Night campaign. He had a bus there which was converted. I saw his project and I thought what a wonderful thing so I thought we should start fundraising for it."

Ian, a self-employed minibus driver, began raising money for his project in October last year, and as his organisation is not a registered charity, the majority of the funds were raised through raffles and donations.

Ian eventually bought a working double-decker bus that was once used on the streets of London for about £5,000 (€5850) and set to work converting it for the group’s purposes. He said the whole project cost nearly £20,000 (€23,400)

"I think it was £18,000," Ian said. "No grants whatsoever. It was fundraising and people and businesses helping out. It has been hard work but worth it."

Ian said the bus still requires a few repairs before it is ready to be used, but he is hoping it will be finished in the next few weeks.

"We wanted to get it out before Christmas but it is just whether we can get through these repairs," he said"But we are still looking for funding. To take the bus from Cefn Fforest to Newport is £60 in fuel."

Ian said at least two of the group’s nine volunteers would be on duty with the bus while it is in use. He said the group plan to use the bus for a few nights a week at first and may look to extend in the future. To find out more about the HOPE project, visit their website .

Source: WalesOnline

There is space for 12 people to sleep. Source: IanSmith/WalesOnline
Volunteers have been holding open days to show people around the facilities. Source: IanSmith/WalesOnline
The bus is equipped with a kitchen. Source: IanSmith/WalesOnline
There are two shower and toilet cubicles Source: IanSmith/WalesOnline
There is even a small lounge space at the back Source: IanSmith/WalesOnline
Tammy and Ian Smith (left) with Blackwood mayor Gerwyn James Source: IanSmith/WalesOnline

Homelessness on the rise everywhere… except Finland

According to statistics from the Homeless World Cup Foundation, there is a deepening crisis on the streets of America, and the European Union is struggling with the same massive, tragic problem: homelessness

Over the last year in the UK, the number of people sleeping in the street or a car rose by 7%. In Germany, the homeless population has grown by 35% over the last two years, and by 50% in France. From 2009–2015 the number of homeless people in the Netherlands grew by 13,000 to 31,000, an increase of 74% In fact, homelessness is on the rise in every single country in the EU except one: Finland

The HOPE Bus is not the solution to homelessness—which can have many underlying contributing factors—because there is no one single answer to this huge societal challenge, but it’s a step forward, and it will make a very real difference to those who get to sleep safe and warm in it during the coming winter nights.

RELATED: DISCOVER HOW FINLAND IS TACKLING HOMELESSNESS BY GIVING HOMES AWAY


Make an Impact

How to Help the Homeless: 5 ways to help the homeless (with pictures)

There are lots of other ways to help homeless people. Donating food and clothing to homeless shelters is a great way to help. You could also volunteer your time with such an organisation. Educate yourself and others about homelessness. Use letters to your local newspaper, blog posts, and social media to spread the word about how homelessness is a problem and what others can do to help.