Homeless volunteer in Newport: 'We've seen horrific things'

A woman from Newport who set up a pop-up kitchen to help the homeless has said she has seen "horrific things" since starting the service.

Hayley Thomas said she was prompted to help after going for a meal in Newport, where she saw several people sleeping rough in the rain.

Now, working with a group of volunteers she set up on Facebook, she runs a pop-up kitchen for the city's homeless up to four times a week.

She said some people on Universal Credit were also using the service.

The Department for Work and Pensions said specialist support was available for homeless Universal Credit claimants.

She said: "We're helping all the guys that are street homeless, we're getting their trust and we're talking to them to try and get them to engage, to understand that there is another way we can do this."

19 December 2019