The Harrogate Homeless Project was the grateful recipient of donations by the women of the Harrogate congregation of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Lynn Purser, the Women’s leader of the Relief Society Organisation, one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the world, with a membership of 4.5 million, presented 50 bags of donated items, which included toiletries and other essential items. These bags were given to the charity to hand onto the homeless who are sleeping rough on the streets of Harrogate.
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David Randall, from the Harrogate Homeless charity, attended a dinner at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints meeting house and gave a short presentation on the charity’s work, explaining that around 42 people are sleeping on the streets of Harrogate every night. He emphasized the need to alert the public to the homeless problem, which occurs every single night. The Harrogate project is an independent charity which was founded by local churches in 1991 to try to assist the growing number of people who were living rough on the streets. The charity now operates from a day centre and a 16 bed hostel in the city which offer support and the move to independent living to homeless people in Harrogate. The charity requires the continual support of local people in the community to be able to offer the daily services.
The Harrogate congregation regularly donates to other charities, often abroad, but decided to contribute to a local charity this year and hope to continue in the future.
Pictured from left to right - Mr David Randall from the Harrogate Homeless Project, Mrs Lynn Purser, President of the Relief Society in Harrogate with Mr Greg Carson , a local Church leader