A FLINT man is urging people to stop turning a ‘blind eye’ to the homeless, especially as the winter nights are drawing in.
Matt Pyne has been going out onto the streets of Wrexham every Wednesday night for the past couple of years to help the homeless.
Himself and a group of friends start at Queens Square and aim to hand out 30 hot meals and items of clothing.
He told the Leader: “I used to work for a skip firm and one day I was working in Wrexham and saw a young guy just wrapped up in a sleeping bag using the rubbish bags to keep warm.
“I asked him how he was doing but I knew it wouldn’t help him. I then took to social media about what I’d seen because it had ruined by hear and someone asked what I was going to do about it.
“I started taking a couple of meals out and putting on Facebook asking for donations and it’s grown from there. We’ve got a good team of people now who all just do what they can.
“A lot of what I have found is that everyone sees the problem and a lot of people want to do something about it but don’t.”
Mr Pyne said he uses social media to ask for any donations and everything he is given gets used, whether for the homeless or given to Renew.
He added: “One of my bug bares is that in winter you start to see people talking about the homeless, but it isn’t just in winter. They are homeless 365 days of the year; they are here and suffering all year round. People just choose not to see it.
“It’s important to get everyone together and raise that awareness. The situation is out there but a lot of people chose to turn a blind eye. I was guilty of it.
“Homeless people have a stereotype of being drug users but it’s someone’s family member and unless you take time to talk to them, you don’t understand what they are going through.”
Mr Pyne said the team has helped many people on the streets, including a woman in the RAF who was taken off the streets within 24-hours.
He said: “People need access to this information.
“We are not an organisation or a charity we are just a group of friends who do it off our own backs. Live Flint other groups been set up.
“It’s freezing and it’s hard. You feel so guilty and emotional getting in your car to go home because of what you see and the conditions these people are in both physically and mentally.
“We have a big raffle going on at the moment which will be drawn on December 15 by Mel Buckley and all proceeds will go towards what we need for the guys out there.”
More information or to donate items, Matt Pyne can be contacted via his Facebook Page.
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