As Christmas approaches, rough sleepers in the Bournemouth area are receiving bags of treats and necessities. The goodie bags are being handed out to those attending HealthBus clinics. The idea for Bags of Hope comes from Reg Chapman, a retired naval chef and one of our volunteers. He was given [...]
We have reached our fundraising target of £60,000! This means we can now purchase a brand-new vehicle to give rough sleepers and people experiencing homelessness access to healthcare and other support services through a mobile drop-in clinic. Our HealthBus Team have needed a new vehicle since the first COVID-19 lockdown [...]
We've encountered unprecedented challenges and successes in our first year as a registered charity! Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we've not only faced unforeseen challenges in providing our mobile drop-in clinic for rough sleepers in the Bournemouth area, but also successful outcomes. Our team began providing healthcare and specialist GP [...]
Thank you to everyone who took part in our ‘Covid-19 Heroes Campaign’. Amazingly, over 70 creative Covid-19 Heroes responded to our appeal to cut out and decorate a HealthBus Badge in such artistic ways! Thank you for sharing these amazing works of art on social media. YOU have helped us [...]
At the end of March 2020, the Trustees took to the difficult decision to suspend operations due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Sadly, we have not been able to have face to face contact with our homeless and rough sleeping patients. The current YMCA bus we hire is no longer adequate [...]
A huge thank you to everyone who supported our launch event on 30 January. We raised nearly £4,000 (without including Gift Aid)! Since becoming a registered charity at the end of last year, we can now start fundraising and applying for grants. So we invited supporters old and new to [...]
Today we met six year-old Zac Swift, our youngest donor so far! He visited the HealthBus with his older brother, Finn (aged nine), and his mum to hand over £100 to Dr Maggie Kirk and the team. Zac Swift and his brother Finn with the HealthBus team Zac [...]
From today you might see two new faces at the HealthBus. A big 'thank you' to Public Health Dorset for providing a nurse and admin support each Thursday morning for winter immunisations. The nurse will be offering flu and pneumonia vaccinations to protect the homeless this winter.
It is with great pride and excitement that we now have a recognised charity status. This creates a huge opportunity for the HealthBus to develop further, allowing us to apply for grants and local funding to provide healthcare for rough sleepers across Bournemouth. Our registered charity number is: 1186790.
Swanky London hotels are not our usual Friday night hangout. But on 29 November, we had a very special reason to be at the glitzy Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel: Dr Maggie Kirk and the HealthBus team, were nominated for an award at the prestigious annual GP Awards in the [...]