26 March 2023 , 13:58
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A pensioner was inspired to give up his time to help homeless people after watching a heartless YouTube prank.
Nigel Hollander aims to feed as many homeless people and rough sleepers as he can.
The dad-of-two, 78, has also been providing other essentials to those who are struggling in Sale, Greater Manchester.
He saw a homeless man begging in the town and decided to strike up a conversation with him after buying him some food.
Nigel soon began to notice more and more people begging and rough sleeping.
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He started out buying meal deals from Tesco and Sainsburys and hot drinks on colder days. Then he started cooking meals at home and bringing them to the people he kept seeing on the streets.
One of Nigel's food packages"You know I have a lot of spare time," he told the Manchester Evening News.
"I'm not really doing much with it. I have travelled, although I am planning to visit Kenya over the summer to help more of those in need.
"What inspired me to do it was through YouTube," Nigel explained.
"I'm new to it and was just scrolling and saw a video pop up on my 'recommended' on a guy who dropped money in front of a homeless person and filmed him to see how he would spend it.
"I used to be homeless when I was in my 20s and I got really angry that they were filming him. Why can't he just give him the money and leave him be?
Nigel hopes to help as many people as possible in Sale"That just made me want to go out and help a person without having to flaunt it all over social media. Imagine how that homeless bloke feels like?"
New research from Shelter shows that there are currently 271,000 individuals who are homeless in England with almost half being children (123,000).
Excluding London, Manchester has the second worst rate of homelessness in the country with Luton being first.
It is estimated by Shelter that one in 74 people in Manchester are homeless.
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Nigel was homeless for a period in his 20sAfter 'getting into trouble in youth', Nigel was homeless for 4 years from the age of 21, sleeping on the streets and squatting and moving between friends' homes.
"It was a tough experience, knowing anything could happen to you. It helped shape me into the man I am today," he says now.
"I want to do more," Nigel adds. "I want to leave a legacy related to helping people. The more I do it, the more I want to do it and I'm glad I am. I hope I can inspire others."
Nigel wants to start working with a team of volunteers to cook and distribute meals to the homeless people in his community as well as blankets and pillows.
"If I can get more people to assist me with this, we could open a charity. It can reach different parts of the country so I hope to expand the help."
A spokesperson for Trafford Council said: “Trafford Council, through its Housing Options Service Trafford (HOST) department, is totally committed to helping rough sleepers off the streets and assisting homeless people to find new accommodation.
"Our rough sleepers team patrol the streets of Sale, and the rest of the borough, on a regular basis and are committed to helping anyone they find sleeping on the streets.
"Anyone who wishes to speak to our HOST team regarding new accommodation can call 0161 912 2230 to book an appointment. For more information, people can go to the website Rough sleeping (trafford.gov.uk).”
You can contact Nigel at [email protected] or call 0161 234 4692 for more assistance.