The Hope Revolution: app launched to help save the lives of homeless people living on the streets

400,000 people in Britain are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This includes people sleeping rough, living in homeless shelters, temporary accommodation or sofa-surfing

A new mobile application has been launched which could help save the lives of homeless people living on the streets and change the lives of those in temporary accommodation across Greater Manchester, including the borough of Rochdale.

Supporting charities such as Barnabus, Big Issue North and Lifeshare, plus charities based in the Rochdale borough like the Bond Board and WHAG, The Hope Revolution’s application has been designed to enable members of the public to buy much needed physical items to be delivered to a local homeless charities.

The charities are then able to distribute the items to those most in need.

A recent report by the University of Essex suggests 400,000 people in Britain are homeless or at risk of homelessness. This includes people sleeping rough, living in homeless shelters, temporary accommodation or sofa-surfing. A staggering 135,000 children in Britain are homeless tonight.

A spokesperson for The Hope Revolution CIC said: “Before we started, we were hearing a lot from members of the public that they are wary of giving money to a rough sleeper because they feel it might not be the best way of helping this person get back on their feet. This was the driving force behind our app development. In addition, our users may not necessarily have a spare coat, sleeping bag or pair of gloves to be able to donate to their local shelter.

“We have therefore made it possible for people to buy the items which will change or save peoples’ lives, directly from their phone.

“It is easy to understand that warm items are extremely important during the winter, with temperatures regularly dropping below freezing. There are also other items such as sanitary products, tea and coffee, toothbrushes - these are equally as important! We worked closely with the organisations we support to collate the list of items, the number needed and the urgency.

“The organisations work closely with the homeless and therefore know best what is needed and who will benefit from the items the most.”

You can download the app for free on both Android and iOS – just search The Hope Revolution.