Vision Care for Homeless People is now registered for Gift Aid and we have joined Virgin Giving Money, our online fundraising partner. This enables you to make a donation easily and securely. Please support Vision Care for Homeless People and help vulnerable people to see.

Your support will help Vision Care for Homeless People to transform lives. You can add gift aid to your donation and we get paid a further 25% on your donation. Every £5 you raise or donate can pay for Vision Care for Homeless People to provide an eye examination and a pair of glasses for a homeless person.

Thank you for your time and support.

The worthy team of volunteer optometrists and dispensing opticians were only able to complete their rewarding work due to the generosity of the Outside Clinic which had loaned two domiciliary kits to the charity. Grateful thanks also go to Essilor which provided not just the lenses but also free glazing for this very worthwhile initiative –

Mike Kirkley, Managing Director of Essilor, was praised for his company’s generosity by Elaine Styles, the charity’s chair –

“There were seven per cent more visitors to the Crisis Centres this Christmas over last year and as more of the homeless in London heard about our service we were working to full capacity. This really highlights the need for the service that we provide – not just in London but throughout the country.”

Anyone thinking of volunteering in future is urged to look at the YouTube link, which shows what a rewarding experience working at Crisis at Christmas can be:

Andrew Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith, officially opened the charity’s new service at Shepherd’s Bush Market Broadway Centre this week, praising the dedication of the volunteers.

“This is an inspiring project and as a model can be rolled out across the country. Such a service is set to be in greater demand as our homeless population increases due to financial pressures,” he said.

The charity recently celebrated the 5,000th pair of glasses to be dispensed by one of its centres in London and Birmingham. Actively looking at other cities where there is a need for the service, the optometrist founder, Harinder Paul, explained:

“We provide a thorough eye examination and new glasses whenever they are needed, in an environment where homeless people feel comfortable. Sometimes we have picked up pathology which needs to be referred to hospital and have been able to make a dramatic difference in helping many people to engage more with society.”

Picture shows charity patron actor Ben Miles with Andrew Slaughter MP (right) cutting the ribbon to open the new Vision Care For Homeless People clinic. Photograph by Jeff Hubbard.

Working in conjunction with Vision Care for Homeless People, Crisis is seeking volunteer optometrists and dispensing opticians to donate a few hours of their time for this very worthwhile work.

“The volunteer lines are now open on the Crisis website and we are hoping that we will receive a lot of support from the optical profession. Last Christmas we saw 242 patients, many of whom had a desperate need for glasses. This is such a valuable part of getting some of the homeless back on track,” said VCHP Chair, Elaine Styles.

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*In addition, VCHP is seeking donations of new plastic and metal frames suitable for the Christmas glazing service. Please contact the charity on 020 8356 6532 or email will@vchp.org.uk

The Award of Charity, Company or Practice of the Year is for the organisation that has done the most to promote and expand optometry, or which has brought the benefits of optics to a wider audience. Voting is open until midnight on the 23rd October so please spread the word.

I certainly think we bring the benefits of optics to a wider audience as we are helping to bring the benefits of optometry to some of the poorest people in our own community. Restoring somebody’s vision is one of the most rewarding experiences you could have, from supplying a myopic correction to a person who would effectively be considered blind without their correction to issuing a simple reading prescription so that somebody can read an application form. Getting people back on their feet and into accommodation and jobs is very important.

We are a UK charity which helps people here at home. Some practitioners may not have the opportunity or the money to give up two weeks to go abroad and work in foreign clinics but we encourage people to give a few hours to volunteer in one of our clinics.

Over a thousand hours a year of volunteering time is donated by optometrists and dispensing opticians to run our four current clinics.

It is a very rewarding experience helping your fellow human beings when they are at one of the lowest points of their life. The smile on their face when they see clearly again is priceless.

Visiting our practice which operates within London’s Crisis Skylight Centre in Whitechapel, she was interested to hear how our team has carried out 783 eye examinations for homeless people in the past 12 months and that optical volunteers are urgently needed for the London and Birmingham centres.

Impressed with the dedication of the volunteers she met, Samantha commented -

“The day I spent with the staff and patients at the clinic was fascinating. Vision Care for Homeless People is a truly special charity, which offers a ‘visual lifeline’ for homeless people. Sight is a precious gift, the sense people most worry about losing, so it was a real pleasure to see the optical professions at the forefront. This is a fantastic opportunity for optometrists and dispensing opticians to offer their skills and expertise, and to really make a difference to people’s lives.”

For those with a few hours to spare, either voluntarily or if you choose to be paid, please contact Will on 020 8356 6532.

The Award of Charity, Company or Practice of the Year is for the organisation that has done the most to promote and expand optometry, or which has brought the benefits of optics to a wider audience.

I certainly think we bring the benefits of optics to a wider audience as we are helping to bring the benefits of optometry to some of the poorest people in our own community. Restoring somebody’s vision is one of the most rewarding experiences you could have, from supplying a myopic correction to a person who would effectively be considered blind without their correction to issuing a simple reading prescription so that somebody can read an application form. Getting people back on their feet and into accommodation and jobs is very important.

We are a UK charity which helps people here at home. Some practitioners may not have the opportunity or the money to give up two weeks to go abroad and work in foreign clinics but we encourage people to give a few hours to volunteer in one of our clinics.

Over a thousand hours a year of volunteering time is donated by optometrists and dispensing opticians to run our four current clinics.

It is a very rewarding experience helping your fellow human beings when they are at one of the lowest points of their life. The smile on their face when they see clearly again is priceless.

With the London and Birmingham centres supported by several public-spirited optical companies, all vital resources are put to good use, providing much needed support in an approachable environment for some of the country’s most disposed and vulnerable.

As Dave Walker, Bondeye Sales Manager, explained his company’s support –

“This charity offers such a vital service to the homeless and we are pleased to be able to help. We appreciate that to keep VCHP growing it needs ongoing support from organisations like ourselves and we are happy to make that commitment.”

Dave Walker is pictured with Charity Chair, Elaine Styles, who added –

“When the box of repair supplies was opened the volunteer dispensing optician said she felt as if she had woken up on Christmas day. She said it was much better than the equipment she works with in private practice.”

With powers from +1.0 to +3.50D, the ready readers, along with the generous donation of lenses and glazing by Kent Optic, the charity is helping more and more who need this help.

As Rebecca Harwood Lincoln, Polaroid Eyewear Sales Manager UK and Ireland explained:
“This is a wonderful cause and one that affords practical help to people in real need.  We are so pleased to be able to help in this simple way but that makes such a massive difference for the people concerned. 

“Corporate social responsibility is an integral part of our business at Polaroid and that is why our charities policy focuses efforts on helping organisations with causes close to our own of improving the vision and eye health of people around the world. Our donation to Vision Care for Homeless People is a perfect example of this in action,” she added.

Optometrists and dispensing opticians are much needed throughout the year to help with the charity’s clinics in London and Birmingham.  For more information please call:  020 8356 6532

Photograph by Jeff Hubbard.

The valuable donation to Vision Care for Homeless People will fund the running costs of the Whitechapel centre, which is housed within the London Crisis centre, and will cover the cost of hundreds of eye examinations.

Donna Power (pictured with charity founder, Harinder Paul) explained –

“Optometry Giving Sight is committed to funding projects that give sight, and hope, to people who are blind or vision impaired. This is a very strong project which we are delighted to support as we recognise that there are serious issues within our home market besides the needs of less developed countries.”

Harinder Paul added-

“We are extremely grateful to Optometry Giving Sight for this generous donation to help the sadly growing number of homeless people here, on our doorstep, as well as the developing countries that Optometry Giving Sight already serve.

“We are seeing an increased demand for our service since it was launched seven years ago, and are currently seeing around 400 people a year at this one clinic. We would desperately like to expand the service which we offer, and extend the days on which the clinic is currently open – the Optometry Giving Sight donation will certainly help us to do this.”