Now we've announced who the Bus is going to... check out the page for more info (I'll pop the press release below also) and they are having a launch of their Project and we're of course having a launch of The Bus - we'd love to see you!
INVITATION TO THE LAUNCH OF THE BUS - SUNDAY 26TH NOVEMBER 12-2PM - CAR PARK BY PFC & PITC
As I'm sure you're aware, Joanne and I were donated a bus by Stagecoach in April this year. We had a plan to turn the Bus into a 12 bed homeless shelter and donate to a local charity to manage and run. With the help of public donations, fundraising, volunteers and companies all donating; time, goods and money, we are pleased to announce that this has very nearly been achieved!
We would like to invite you to the ONLY public viewing of the completed bus, before it is taken to its new home to be put to excellent use.
The Bus will be at Portsmouth Football Club, Fratton Park car park by (Pompey in the Community) on Sunday 26th November from 12pm to 2pm for public viewing. After that the bus will be taken to its new home, where it will be used to help the homeless of Portsmouth.
Please come along and have a look around and meet the people and companies who have transformed the bus.
Kind Regards
Sammy and Joanne
https://m.facebook.com/Rucksackbus/
Charity to take Bus - press release...
Hello Bus Followers
Joanne and Sammy are happy to inform you of the new owners of the Bus.
We could not have done this without the support of many trades people in the city and their amazing donation of time and goods, but most of all, without the donation of a bus by Stagecoach, this project would not have gone ahead.
Also, huge thanks to all the people who have held fund raising events and donated through the Just Giving page.
The bus will have its new home at St Agathas Church in Portsmouth, who have an amazing team on hand to operate the bus and also offer support to those that need it.
Please see the press release from the church below;
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Homeless Bus to get home at St Agathas’ as the Trust launch the Robert Dolling Project
The homeless Bus is to get its first home at St Agathas’, behind the Cascades Shopping Centre as the Trust launch Robert Dolling Project to support the homeless.
The Project, aims to use the converted double decker bus as the first step in a programme to provide help and support to some of Portsmouth’s 40 rough sleepers.
The announcement will be made as the completed Bus, a converted Volvo Olympian double decker bus donated by Stage Coach goes on display at Fratton Park on the 26th November from 12 -2pm, this will be the only public showing of the bus, after that it will be taken to St Agathas.
Father Maunder, from St Agathas’ commented: “When I heard about this incredible community based project, I knew this church could help by providing a base, because we are close to an existing group of rough sleepers and have the space to accommodate it.”
The Bus, the brainchild of Joanne Vines and Sammy Barcroft, is being made available to Portsmouth as Government figures show rough sleeping in England has rocketed. Between 2010-2016 it soared by over 130 per cent from 1,800 to over 4,000 on any given night.
And despite various Government initiatives, official estimates suggest that each year around 34,500 people will sleep rough.
Father Maunder continued: “What has been particularly impressive is the energy and support that Joanne and Sammy have received from local people, organisations and companies. Highbury College made the bunks, Genie Acrylics for all the vinyls and GJC electricals for converting the bus electrics, Vivid Housing for donating and fitting a kitchen and to Richs who have supported the Bus from day one, to name a few.
“This really has been a Team effort, and everyone involved should feel extremely proud of their achievements.”
The idea of the Robert Dolling project followed a meeting between Father Maunder, and a group of the Bus’s supporters, including Steve Wemyss, Alistair Thompson, Leonardo Ciccarone and Paul Hartley to see what else should be provided to those rough sleeping here in the City.
Among the top issues the Project has identified is providing access to medical, psychological and addiction services. Rough sleepers are far more likely to have a diagnosed mental health problem, with one study suggesting the figure could be around 44 per nearly twice the rate amongst the general population.
While a survey by a leading homeless charity found four in 10 (41 per cent) have a drug problem and just over a quarter (27 per cent) have, or are recovering from an alcohol problem.
Worryingly people sleeping on the street are also 17 times more likely to have been victims of violence. More than one in three people sleeping rough have been deliberately hit or kicked or experienced some other form of violence, whilst the life expectancy of a homeless person is just 47.
Father Robert Dolling was the priest of St Agatha’s between 1885-1895. A great social reformer he frequently challenged authorities to do more to improve the lives of his parishioner’s, including the appalling state of their housing, which he described in a book, Ten Years in a Portsmouth Slum, published in 1896.
Father Maunder concluded: "It is important that we engage with all the citizens of Portsmouth so that we can all work together to help some of the most vulnerable people in the city. Over a hundred years ago Robert Dolling shared a common platform with anyone prepared to help feed and shelter those who had been abandoned. We now invite people to do the same"
