Homeless people get help with eyecare

Bryony Allen, a Specsavers optometrist, volunteered at a clinic for homeless people

Homeless people have been given free eyecare by Specsavers.

More than two dozen volunteers from the firm, including clinicians and optical assistants, spent time at eyecare clinics set up and run by Specsavers in Crisis at Christmas centres across the country. They also supported Vision Care for Homeless People clinics in London. Collectively, nearly 200 people received vital eyecare.

Optometrist Bryony Allen volunteered at a London clinic: “Changing lives is at the heart of Specsavers’ purpose, and it was wonderful to work with our charity partners to give people experiencing homelessness a helping hand in terms of eyecare.”

Specsavers staff also volunteered at clinics in London, Oxford, Swansea, Birmingham and Newcastle. A number of practices ran their own eyecare clinics for the homeless during the festive period. Volunteers from Bicester, Kidlington and Ipswich, and the Derby 1 Home Visits domiciliary service, were among those to provide them.

The move follows the launch of a partnership with Big Issue Group and Crisis last year. Vendors throughout the country have also been issued with gift cards which they can redeem in any store to get an eye test and glasses. They can also access Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) scans. The company is continuing its long-standing support for Vision Care for Homeless People, helping the charity set up additional clinics throughout the UK.

Specsavers has made an ongoing commitment to supporting homeless people with a specific focus on removing barriers they face getting eyecare. A lack of a permanent address often stops them from accessing NHS services. The firm will be calling on the government to change that in the long term. In the meantime, it aims to support as many people experiencing homelessness as possible with free eyecare.