This Christmas marks the third anniversary of our partnership with Specsavers. Over the past two years, we've seen this collaboration grow into a truly strategic and impactful corporate partnership, dedicated to making a difference for people experiencing homelessness nationwide by breaking down healthcare barriers and implementing new practices to become a leading inclusion health provider. Let’s take a moment to reflect on some of the highlights from this partnership.

In June, we launched our first dedicated wellbeing floor at the Edinburgh Skylight. Thanks to funding from Specsavers, this floor will host a variety of member activities and is home to Vision Care for Homeless People (VCHP)’s first eye clinic in Scotland. The clinic is open to anyone at risk of or experiencing homelessness. The launch event was attended by more than 60 people from Crisis, VCHP, Specsavers, representatives from the optometry industry, and partner organisations supporting individuals who may access the clinic. Our first clinic took place on 19 August, where we were thrilled to offer free eye care appointments and glasses to our members. In addition to the eye clinic, the wellbeing floor features two rooms for member activities. One room hosts outreach health services, such as smoking cessation, sexual health drop-ins, and wellbeing services like hairdressing and podiatry. The other room is dedicated to learning and is equipped with tables and laptops for members' use. Staff will also benefit from the new facilities with a dedicated staff wellbeing room.

Another key highlight has been the year-round rollout of Specsavers’ eye and ear care clinics across Crisis Skylights in England and Wales. Building on the success of our Christmas clinics, we are now able to offer quarterly eye and ear health checks during our Health & Wellbeing days. Between April and September, we held five eye care clinics and three ear care clinics at Skylights in Merseyside, Swansea, Newcastle, Oxford, and Croydon. Thanks to 17 incredible Specsavers volunteers who donated over 100 hours of their time, we tested 43 pairs of eyes, dispensed 42 glasses, checked the ears of 16 guests, and performed four ear wax removals.

"Our clinic within the Crisis building has been able to truly help loads of people who have been unable to see, suffering from headaches, eye infections, and some have even been slowly losing their sight due to undiagnosed and untreated eye diseases which we have been able to arrange treatment for. We provide spectacles, eye drops, lid cleansers all for free. We also have arranged free surgery with VisionScotland for patients who we worry won’t be contactable for their surgical appointments via NHS waiting times.  As an optometrist, I am lucky enough to have a skillset that can help others,  and I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to be able to help at Crisis centre in Edinburgh. I encourage all Opticians and Optometrists to volunteer and help support those people in your community who are most in need of your skills" - Michael O'Kane, Optometrist Volunteer in Edinburgh 

At Crisis, we know that improving the physical and mental wellbeing of our members is key to their journey out of homelessness. Providing quarterly drop-in clinics at our Skylights makes a huge difference, offering members vital healthcare services in a familiar and safe environment.

In addition to the hands-on support from Specsavers volunteers throughout the year, we're also grateful for their fundraising efforts. Many Specsavers employees have taken on challenges like running half or full marathons, organising charity stalls, or hosting walkathons to support Crisis. Last month, three Specsavers cyclists joined Crisis CEO Matt Downie on his 500-mile cycling challenge from London to Edinburgh, raising an incredible £15,000 for our services. A special thanks to Specsavers for sponsoring the event and organising a lovely final-day celebration.

Lastly, we are excited to collaborate with Specsavers again this festive season. We have ambitious plans, including running seven eye care and six ear care clinics at our Christmas activities in Birmingham, Oxford, Swansea, Merseyside, and Newcastle between November and January. Our Crisis at Christmas services in London will open their doors to members and guests on 23 December. Specsavers volunteers will support 16 eye care clinics organised by Vision Care for Homeless People in our Day Centres and Hotels and offer ear health checks at six clinics across different locations in London. Additionally, Specsavers is supporting our broader healthcare delivery by funding our dental services and medical budget for Crisis at Christmas.

A heartfelt thank you to Specsavers and everyone involved in this partnership for going above and beyond to make healthcare more accessible for people experiencing homelessness.