A SWINDON charity is calling on people to do their bit to help the homeless this weekend.

Swindon Footprints is a charity that supports the homeless by raising awareness and money towards helping them.

The charity’s first Homeless Awareness Weekend will see volunteers out and about in the town centre collecting money and offering the public a few special treats in the form of mystery guests and surprises.

Swindon Footprints was founded by Toothill mum Rachel Tucker, who was inspired to set up the charity by her son’s battle with addiction and homelessness.

Rachel said: “Homelessness is on the increase in Swindon and it’s a big issue for everybody.

“For the people who are homeless themselves, there just aren’t enough properties around and there aren’t enough people on the ground to support them.

“There’s not a lot of support for the families of people who are homeless either.

“We’re trying to raise awareness this coming weekend where people can actually do something - we want people to talk about homelessness.

“We want people to volunteer or maybe fundraise for a homeless charity - whether it’s local or national - basically anything that is out there helping homeless people.

“Whatever people want to do, we want this to be a weekend where we highlight this issue, give people an opportunity to reach out and help one another and also give those charities a platform because people don’t necessarily know what they do.”

The charity is hoping to raise £1,000 over the course of the weekend.

So far, the work the charity has done includes members feeding and clothing homeless people in the town.

The charity has fed around 18 people each night, providing over 3,000 hot meals since starting.

Swindon Footprints and special guests will be in the town centre from 10am to 3pm on Saturday, May 12 and from 11am to 3pm on Sunday, May 13.

If you would like to get involved, email homelesshelpinghandswindon@gmail.com with Homeless Awareness Weekend in the subject line.