A new shopping experience for Bristol’s homeless

A new shopping experience for Bristol’s homeless is coming to College Green on Saturday.

The Street Store claims to be “the word’s first rent-free, premises-free, free pop-up clothing store for the homeless”. Founded in Cape Town, South Africa, there are now more than 500 Street Stores across the world.

Bristol Street Store founder Terry White explains a bit more about what to expect:

What is a Street Store, and how did you set it up?

“As an individual or as a company, you can organise with thestreetstore.org to be the host but you have to stick to their specifications on certain things, logos and so on. The idea is that it is an event that’s held in quite a public place and it’s for members of the public to bring along however many items of clothing they can spare, and hang the items up on the boards or hangers. The homeless come along and are able to shop out in the open. The aim is for the public to see the homeless people, rather than it just being a donation to some organisation: there’s real interaction between donors and the homeless population. You can actually see the faces of the people that you giving to.”

https://www.facebook.com/thestreetstoreorg/videos/2421013611456072/

What drove you to bring the idea to Bristol?

“Bristol really does open its arms to homeless people. People like Keep Bristol Warm do a really good job, but so much of it is behind closed doors. Often, the work isn’t done where the public can really see it happening, and see how many homeless people there are. Sure, if you walk up Park Street you might see some bedding in doorways, but actually the plight is really larger than that. I’m hoping that this will bring about recognition that it’s a bigger cause than most people realise.”

What problems do you think the Street Store will solve with regards to homelessness in Bristol?

“It’s such a huge problem, but I am hoping that it will bring about members of the public to talk to people as they arrive, maybe just stick around and have a conversation with them because we are told that this is what they really want: a conversation. I walked past a couple the other day in Union Street and I was telling them to come along and handing out little flyers to them, and they said ‘Thanks very much for just stopping and talking’. I’m sure that homeless people like to tell people their stories just like the rest of us do, so I’m hoping that this event will give them that opportunity.”

Bristol Street Store founder Terry White

How do you ensure that the clothes donated to the Street Store go to those most in need?

“It is a reliance on good will. I’m trying to get the word out to homeless people by handing out flyers to them, so hopefully those in need will come along on that day and have a look. I’m not going to chase away anybody who might be coming from the shelter, or who feel like they don’t have the money to buy stuff. It is goodwill because I’m hoping that people who can afford to buy clothing are not going to turn up and ask for some!”

What happens next for this project?

“It’s not really a continued project but I am hoping that it could change people’s mindsets. If enough people see homeless people coming around, the next time they see somebody sitting in the doorway, they might sit and talk to them. It’ll hopefully get people talking again.”

Bristol’s first Street Store takes place on College Green on Saturday, January 20. To find out more about the global Street Store movement and to do your bit for homelessness, visit www.thestreetstore.org.

Read more: Efforts to tackle Bristol’s homelessness crisis stepped up with the launch of a £5.3m project