Volunteers who feed the homeless have spoken out about their work.

The St Albans Action for Homeless was set up two years ago by Lynn Dutton and Claire Read.

Since October last year, the initiative has been pushed to help rough sleepers every Friday and Saturday night by giving them food, clothing and sleeping bags.

The group was set up after Ms Read saw homeless people on her way to and from work and decided she would no longer wanted to walk on by.

A volunteer Sharon Linney said: “Lynn and her friend Claire said they would see homeless people on the street and lived close to each other.

“They decided to take action and do something about and that’s how it all started and people decided to follow.

“Our group helps to fill in a void, as the homeless drop-in service, Centre 33, does not serve food on Saturdays and Fridays. A lot of homeless people also do not like organisations.

“That is because there are so many rules and regulations. We do not criticise or judge. We ask what they want or need and we offer what we can.”

Every week the group helps up to 12 homeless people in the city centre and surrounding areas and receive donations of food from people in the community and businesses.

St Albans Action for Homeless were also runners up in the 2019 Mayor Pride Awards.

She said: “We try to build up a relationship with them and trust can be hard but they all know us by name now.

“There is homelessness everywhere, with benefit cuts and rents arising, it will get worse before it gets better. But there is plenty of help in St Albans compared to other areas.

“For me I’ve always been a person that helps, I have always been in town and seen people outside Tesco’s and asked if they wanted something to eat and drink.

“So when the group was set up and I joined and when I did a soup run I couldn’t look back and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

The group will be holding a fundraiser evening at the Peacock’s Pub on September 21 from 8pm to 1am. Tickets cost £10.

Visit:

www.actionforhomeless.co.uk