News / charity
Bristol opticians’ support for homeless recognised with award
Bristol City Centre opticians, Specsavers, has been recognised for their support of the homeless.
The Third Sector Awards which was held at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London, on Friday, September 20, celebrates both individuals and organisations dedicated to tackling social issues, recognising the power of collective action in creating transformative social impact.
Vison Care for Homeless People (VCHP), a small charity dedicated to providing eyecare services to those experiencing homelessness, entered the Corporate Partnership of the Year category for their long-held partnership with Specsavers and won.
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Their submission, ‘Improving Eye Care Services for People Affected by Homelessness’, detailed the partnership which has seen the development of new vision and hearing services to improve access for those of us facing barriers, including pop-ups and out of hours clinics.
The Specsavers group, has been collaborating with VCHP and Expert Focus to host out-of-hours clinics for people affected by homelessness to receive eyecare services since 2023.
Sarah McGowan, contact lens optician partner at the store, was invited to attend the awards ceremony, on the experience she says, “It has been an incredibly rewarding experience supporting the partnership between
Specsavers and VCHP.
“We have hosted a number of open evenings which have been a great way to not only allow people to access care in a comfortable and supportive environment, but also inform our delivery of services and improve our in-store experience for those of us who are affected by homelessness and experience barriers to
care.”
Further to their work with VCHP, the store has also worked with social enterprise, The Big Issue to give access to local Roma communities.
Improving availability and access by holding clinics with volunteer translators, and have visited vendor sites to meet with individuals and explain the services that are available.
Looking forward, the creation of long-term solutions to remove healthcare barriers for people experiencing homelessness is being worked on with the support of Crisis.
To find out more about Specsavers’ homelessness activity, visit the Specsavers website.
Main photo: Vision Care for Homeless People (VCHP)
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