Specsavers in Midsomer Norton is thanking customers for helping raise funds to support people experiencing homelessness.

Research has revealed that more than half of people experiencing homelessness have unresolved issues with their vision1, with a lack of permanent address often being the barrier to accessing such healthcare.

The store has joined fellow Specsavers businesses throughout the UK to raise awareness and vital funds for Crisis’ much needed work to end homelessness.

Specsavers will run eye care clinics in five of Crisis’ centres this Christmas, offering free eye tests and providing free glasses to people in need. Over the next year, Crisis and Specsavers will work together to further expand eye care services for people experiencing homelessness across the country.

Matthew Watt, store director at Specsavers Midsomer Norton says: “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 its tremendous and much needed work, in particular the strides the charity is making to improve access to healthcare for people experiencing homelessness.”

Matt Downie, Crisis Chief Executive, says: “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 Christmas and year-round services has never been more important and why we need as many people as possible to stand with us.”

More than 227,000 people across Britain are currently experiencing the worst forms of homelessness, including sleeping on the streets and on public transport or in insecure and temporary accommodation like hostels and B&Bs. The cost-of-living crisis will see this alarming figure increase further, with many more put at real risk of homelessness as financial pressures intensify.

Specsavers is also supporting the Big Issue Group as part of a broader campaign to break down the barriers that people experiencing poverty and homelessness face in receiving eyecare, as for many, a lack of permanent address prevents them from accessing NHS services.