A time for giving back

‘The NHS contract doesn’t work for homeless people.’ General manager of Vision Care for Homeless People (VCHP) David Brown was clear and concise on this. Speaking at the charity’s clinic in the basement of Crisis Skylight, a day centre where homeless people can access education, Brown painted a damning picture of the state of optical services for the homeless population.

VCHP is the only charity of its kind in the UK. Making use of volunteers and donated funds, frames, lenses and equipment, the organisation sets up clinics in homeless day centres to provide free eye tests and spectacles to homeless people that would otherwise struggle to access optical services. Homeless people are invariably struggling financially but many of them do not or cannot claim financial benefits. This, alongside the fact that many homeless people can provide no fixed address, means that the majority do not qualify for free glasses on the NHS, as per the GOS form.

Barriers