North East branches of Specsavers and Crisis UK have joined forces to offer drop-in eye clinics for homeless and less fortunate people that have no access to eyecare.
Members of staff from Specsavers stores supported the last clinic that was held in partnership with Crisis in December, that provided people with a free eye test and the opportunity to pick up a free pair of glasses if necessary.
The idea for the clinic came about after research showed that over 50% of people experiencing homelessness have issues with their vision that have not been resolved. A massive barrier to this can be people not having a permanent address.
Specsavers helped to run these clinic's in five locations around the country, one of which was Newcastle, and the two organisations are going to work together to further expand the accessibility of these services over the coming year.
Caroline Angell, Optician Director at Specsavers South Shields has spoken about the work that is being done alongside Crisis UK, and the plans for the partnership going forward.
"Our purpose is to change lives through better sight, as well as hearing, as we know all too well the impact that uncorrected vision or undetected sight conditions can have on people’s quality of life. The fact that so many people experiencing homelessness needs glasses but struggle to access eyecare is just something we can’t ignore.
"We are very proud to be supporting Crisis to help support it’s tremendous and much needed work, in particular the strides the charity is making to improve access to healthcare for people experiencing homelessness. The eye clinic was a huge success and something we hope to do again in the future", she said.
Crisis works with thousands of people experiencing homelessness across the UK, providing opportunities for education, training, and support with housing, employment and health. They aim to help people find a permanent path out of homelessness.
Matt Downie, the Chief Executive of Crisis UK, has also given his thoughts on the support from Specsavers and the effects that homelessness can have on people's lives.
"Experiencing homelessness has an extremely negative impact on people’s health. But sadly, we regularly see many people suffering and finding it difficult to access health services because they fear stigma or are not easily able to register due to not having permanent addresses.
"With rising costs continuing to impact people’s ability to pay bills and rent, we fear that the numbers of people facing homelessness will grow over the difficult months ahead.
"This is why the need for our year-round services has never been more important and why we need as many people as possible to stand with us. The valued support from Specsavers and its staff will help us continue to help people who desperately need it."
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