Second tap terminal to help homeless in Harrogate
The first terminal at Marks and Spencer has raised over £6000
Last updated 2nd Aug 2021
A new contactless donation point to support homeless people in Harrogate has been installed today.
After the success of the first tap next to Marks and Spencer you can now donate to Harrogate Street Aid at a second point outside the Victoria Shopping Centre.
In the first year, 100% of what was donated went straight to projects and grants to help homeless people across Harrogate district get back on their feet.
To date, they've raised over £14,000, £6000 of which from the first tap terminal at Marks and Spencer.
Helen Richardson, community safety officer for Harrogate Borough Council, is behind the project.
She said: "We recognise there are a lot of people who are in need of support and need help to get off the street.
"If you pass a beggar in the street you want to give them some help. If you give them a couple of pounds then you only help them for a day where as if you donate it to the charity we can put it into projects and grants to help these people turn a corner.
"One person we've helped is a qualified brick layer but he didn't have any tools so we bought some tools for him so that he can get himself a sustainable job.
"We've also helped a woman furnish a flat and she was actually very critical of the first tap terminal. She would sit next to it and curse people who used it and then when we found her and gave her some help she said it had helped her turn a corner.
"We're just so grateful to the community. It's lovely to hear from people that they think it is a great initiative and people are realising that giving money directly to a person doesn't always work. It might help them today but not tomorrow or next week or next year.
"So we're enabling people to get off the streets for good."
Cllr Michael Chambers, cabinet member for housing and safer communities, said: "We've been trying to get another terminal for a while now because the first has been extremely successful in keeping people off the street.
"People have been extremely generous with their donations so we're hoping this second tap terminal will increase the funding we can gain and will give people a hand up and not a hand out.
"This is proving to be a great way of helping us achieve our goals of getting people off the street and into accommodation, getting them employment or skills.
"We're not just throwing money at them. We're giving them something to help them move forwards.
"I hope people will take the opportunity to donate and help people who are less fortunate than themselves."