On the 22nd of June I will be doing the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge. Pen- Y-Ghent 694M, Whernside 736M, and Ingleborough 724M. The walk is approximately 25 miles in length, with an elevation gain of 1000M.

To complete the challenge you have to finish in under 12 hours, we are aiming to finish in under 10.

The aim of the “punishing” day is to raise Money for a charity I support and help every Thursday evening – “The Homeless Street Angels “.

I will be doing the Three Peaks challenge with 2 more of the team, John and Chris, with a massive help from our guide for the day Chris Birky.

The H.S.A. have been established over 2 years now, and every week the outreach provides food, sandwich packs, drinks, clothes, toiletries, sleeping bags, mats, and many other essential items for the homeless and less fortunate people on the streets of Leeds.

Our aim is to help reverse the spiral of homelessness. Last year we started helping to re house our guys and get lots of rough sleepers off the streets and into a home of their own.

Our aim is to open a day centre to provide support, shelter, and practical help, to raise skills, improve people’s self-confidence, and help move their lives forward. The Day Centre will be called “Abi House” in memory of the founders’ sister who sadly passed away.

2 Stories

1. The sadness we see

A few weeks back we were sorting through all the clothes etc. that we get donated, and there was a really nice pair of nude Timberland boots, size 5. We took them out with us on Thursday and gave them to a lady outside Maccy D’s in Briggate. Her trainers were wet through, so we got her some dry socks and helped her put the boots on as she was struggling, and coughing a lot. and even fastened her laces for her – she was pretty pleased with her new boots. She was found dead the week after , early on the Thursday morning in the doorway of House of Fraser - Her name was Tasha… Sadly Tasha has just become another statistic of life on the streets of Leeds, and another of the regular people we try to help, who unfortunately did not receive the support to help to move on from a horrible way of life. Without change, the outcome for many of these people will be the same !!

2. The hope we bring

We see Ryan every week at the start of the evening , he is only a young guy, but very chatty and polite and always thanks us for the support we give him through the supplies we provide, along with the conversation and encouragement we give. (Ryan really wanted to get off the streets but was struggling.) We managed to get Ryan a flat, but when we say a flat it was an empty shell !!, nothing in there at all, not even a light bulb. Is he supposed to be grateful just because he has a flat, and just sit there in the dark ? Is this really helping them along that road back in to society ??. Our Founder Becky put a shout out on social media, and the response, as always, was absolutely amazing, fridge, cooker, toaster, TV, sofa, carpets, the list goes on and on, so with the help of Michelle, and John, and the trusty HSA Van the flat was transformed into a home. We saw Ryan the following week and the transformation was amazing, he was a different person. He could not believe what we / you had done for him, it literally put you to tears, and it’s moments like this that makes what we do all worthwhile. (He says “It’s like a Premiership footballers pad” ) We could not do what we do without the help, support, and kind donations that you provide and you cannot put a value on what this can do to change someone’s life, like Ryan. We don’t realise how lucky we are until you see people who have lost everything, so please help support us and donate to my Just Giving Crowdfunding page, so we can have more stories like Ryan to tell