New Scarborough homelessness campaign urges people to give money to charity not beggars

The 'Change the Way You Give' campaign is a joint initiative by Scarborough Rainbow Centre, the FirstLight Trust, the Salvation Army and is supported by Scarborough Council.

All three charities have a role to play in supporting vulnerable people and they are well placed to deal with issues relating to homelessness.

Trish Kinsella, manager of the Rainbow Centre in Scarborough, said: "We exist for some of the most vulnerable people in the borough.

"Our food bank is extremely busy as are all the facilities we offer in Scarborough which include showers, laundry and clothes for people who are homeless.

"Like the partner organisations we work with, we rely on donations for our income."

Homeless charity The Ashley Foundation says advice on giving money directly to rough sleepers is mixed, with some warning that it can fuel drug and alcohol addictions, while others say giving money is often essential to help homeless people buy necessities.

The Salvation Army warns again handing money to beggars and says it risks "trapping" people in an "endless cycle" of homelessness and rough sleeping.

Matthew Downie, CEO of the national homelessness charity Crisis, has previously said in an interview that whether people give money to beggars is a "personal decision".

Major Stephen Noble, from The Salvation Army, said: "So often we have a dilemma, we see a vulnerable person on the street and unsure whether we should offer money which may be used inappropriately.

"The 'Change the Way You Give' initiative allows members of the public to offer appropriate support, which not only deals with immediate needs but can lead to life-changing support."

The Scarborough scheme has been developed using the experience of both the town of Harrogate and the city of Cambridge which already have similar projects up and running.

Dorinda Wolfe Murray, chief executive and founding trustee of the FirstLight Trust, said: "Preventing homelessness is the key. Street homelessness is the 'in your face' stuff but the real problem is hidden.

"If people change the way they give to the homeless, they can help us ensure that no veteran or family is cold or hungry."

A simple-to-use text message system has been set up so someone can easily donate to one of the three charities involved.

To support this project, people should text the word CHANGES, followed by the amount they would like to donate (for example CHANGES5 to give £5 or CHANGES10 to give £10) to the following numbers:

70450 for your donation to support the FirstLight Trust

70460 for your donation to support the Salvation Army

70470 for your donation to support the Rainbow Centre in Scarborough

Text messages will cost the person’s chosen donation and one standard-rate message.