The YouTuber fostering compassion and connection through cooking for the homeless

A content creator who has racked up views across social media from people who follow his efforts to cook for those experiencing homelessness has visited Bristol.

Stephen Shaw, more commonly known as Ringo Vision, has been regularly cooking for those experiencing homelessness in boroughs around London, which has garnered him a following of 27,400 subscribers on Youtube and 20,400 on TikTok.

The 40-year-old shared his experience engaging with people sleeping rough in Bristol and explain how he thinks “a lot more could be done.”

Youtube Stephen Shaw, commonly known as Ringo Vision has been carrying out his feeding drives on and off for four years – photo : Ringovision

For four years, on and off, Stephen Shaw has been carrying out feeding drives throughout London.

He tells me, “If you were one of my mates, I definitely would have cooked at your house. That was a thing I’ve always had a passion for is cooking. I’ve always liked helping people that are in need.”

Initially his focus wasn’t feeding those experiencing homelessness, that came later. It started with going out into the community, bringing his cooking equipment, and cooking from a shopping trolley.

But he eventually felt that this was his purpose and he’s been doing it consistently ever since.

 

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A post shared by Ringo Vision (@ringovision)

“I thought Bristol was more community-based than London because it was smaller, so, I thought there would be more involvement,” he says. But when he got it, this wasn’t what he saw.

Adding that he found his experience to be “disturbing” because unlike in London where he says the issue of rough sleeping is more fragmented across boroughs, he never expected it to be in the centre of Bristol.

He explains, “The Bearpit, there’s nothing like that in Croydon. There isn’t a go-to place where a group resides.

“When I came to Bristol and saw this is a place for the homeless, that was terrible. There should never be a place that is known as a homeless spot. If it’s a shelter, then yes, but not outside in the heart of town.

“That’s when I saw that there was a real problem.”

Unlike in London, he says: “Nobody had to lead me around, just walking on my own, the homelessness, it was all in plain sight because the place is so small.”

The Bearpit has become a space for those experiencing homelessness to seek shelter – photo: RingoVision

In conversation and in his videos, Stephen advocates passionatley for people to connect on a human level with those on the streets.

He says that he has found there to be been a widening disconnect between people and those experiencing homelessness.

Adding that the compassion and empathy has been “locked away” and that “it needs to be nurtured and brought back out.” Judging by the comments on his videos, people are responding positively to that.

“I feel like part of my journey is rebuilding what’s been destroyed through trauma, through life experiences and I feel everybody deserves a chance.

“You have to treat them the same, because these individuals want to come back into society, but they don’t know how society is going to look at them. Some of them are scared to come back into society.”

“Having a hot, nutritious meal in your body, allows you to fight the good fight” – photo: RingoVision

From his experience over the last few years he says, Bristol is lacking a specific safe space for people to visit.

When walking past the Malcom X Centre he saw an opportunity for there to a regular night each week where people could pick up the meals and could stay for two to three hours in the warm, adding “Bristol could do more.”

Main photo: RingoVision

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