A woman who spent eight years devoting her time to a charity cafe has revealed just how generous locals can be with unique pay-it-forward scheme. Michelle Langan, who moved to Liverpool from London, was shocked by the number of homeless people in the city.
In January, the council were forced to take action after reaching a crisis point when homelessness and housing emergency costs rose by a staggering 10,000 percent. Rough sleeping also shot up by 50 percent in a year, with mounting pressure on Liverpool City Council to keep people off the streets.
Michelle tells the LiverpoolEcho: "I had been living in London and moved back to Liverpool and noticed there were a lot more homeless people and I wanted to help but wasn't sure how. Myself and another lady started going out once a week to give out sandwiches and a flask with tea.
"We would chat to people to find out their situations and what we could do to help. I started writing on Facebook about the people we met because I wanted to raise awareness - eight years ago there was still quite a bit of stigma about people who were homeless and I wanted to show it could happen to anyone and that all the people we were speaking to had fallen on hard times or fallen through the cracks."
Michelle started growing a team of volunteers who would go out on the streets with trolleys full of sandwiches, clothes, and drinks. The team eventually gained charity status in 2019, and during the Covid-19 lockdown she began thinking about new ways to help the city’s homeless.
She says: "In February 2022 we opened Paper Cup Coffee in Liverpool city centre. It is a place where people who are homeless can come on a ‘pay it forward system’, so customers can pay for a homeless person to have a free hot drink or food.
"They have dignity and choices, they can pick whatever they want off the menu and the only difference is that they don’t pay for it. The feedback we’ve had from our homeless customers is that it’s one of the only places they feel like a ‘normal’ person."
Michelle also offers training opportunities for her homeless customers to volunteer in the shop and gain the skills that may help them find a way out of homelessness. Michelle admits it "hasn’t been easy" keeping the doors open amid the cost of living crisis, but she will continue to work to make Liverpool a better place for those experiencing homelessness.
Local heroes like Michelle could land up to £2,500 to help them boost their communities, thanks to a new fund that has been set up to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards. Grants of £2,500, £1,000 and £500 are available as part of the Pride of Britain Fund’s £100,000 giveaway for good causes, and you can nominate the people or groups who you think should receive it.
It could be someone who devotes their time to make sure older people have companionship and a warm meal, or an unsung hero who spruces up the high street with flowers. It may also be a sports club, where volunteers give kids a safe space to play, or a youth group putting people on the path to a brighter future.
The £100,000 giveaway is part of celebrations to mark the 25th anniversary of the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Awards. The fund, a charity that aims to spread the Pride of Britain spirit, was set up to help charities and community organisations across the UK.
The Pride of Britain team will create a shortlist, but the final decision will rest with local communities all over the country, so you will be able to vote on who gets the funding in your area. To apply, go to reachforms.co.uk/POB to access the online form.