Steven Rowe Homeless Fund
Donation protected
*IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT YOUR DONATION, PLEASE READ*
On Christmas Eve, Channel 4 broadcast a short film on social media about a homeless service veteran called Steve Rowe who is living rough in London.
As a compassionate human, I wanted to try and do something to help - so I set up Go Fund Me page; to which you, the general public generously donated £550. Also, three other fundraisers did the same, and the total raises was almost £4,000. The Channel 4 video has been viewed over 6m times and has been re-Tweeted by a whole raft of well-known people from Jeremy Corbyn to Russell Crowe. Steve has had a hugely-troubled past; most of which didn't come out in the film clip but much of it is in the public domain; some of it controversial.
Like many rough sleepers, Steve is an alcoholic, and it's very likely to kill him if he doesn't get help soon. Since the fundraising page was set up, and after many calls with various people involved with Steve, it's become clear that he doesn't actually want or need money (he gets given plenty of that from passer-byes). What he needs is support, shelter and counselling (alcohol rehabilitation); a roof over his head and an opportunity to reboot his life. The journalist from Channel 4 who made the film is arranging some of this and Steve is now in her hands.
Whilst it was never the intention to hand over £500 we initially tried to raise straight to Steve (that's the worst thing you can do with an alcoholic), we have raised way more than we ever thought we would. However, you must now be the judge of whether you find it acceptable, in hindsight, to donate to someone with Steve's past; as some had suggested, you would prefer a refund. I am a massive believer in rehabilitation; for if we don't help break viscous social circles, there can be no hope of redemption for those less fortunate than us who are trapped in them.
And so, I am asking you to make a simple choice now:
The funds are distributed between two charities that help homeless veterans and can provide counselling and support that Steve and people like him need. These are Help for Homeless Veterans ( www.help4homelessveterans.org) and Stoll ( www.stoll.org.uk)
because of things in Steve's past you were unaware of when you made your donation, you would prefer your donation be refunded to you-which you can request via Go-Fund-Me page https://www.gofundme.com/steven-rowe-homeless-fund
I will leave the GFM page open for refund requests until midday on Saturday 29th December; after which I distributed the funds per time 1 above.
Life is Neve simple -- but for some, it's way more complicated than others.
https://www.channel4.com/news/homeless-veterans-share-their-stories?fbclid=IwAR1JXns-Nfy4feJVraIcHTKmEG3yX0BSYuOuk7CX_baQA8lZVGbqeHBG62U
On Christmas Eve, Channel 4 broadcast a short film on social media about a homeless service veteran called Steve Rowe who is living rough in London.
As a compassionate human, I wanted to try and do something to help - so I set up Go Fund Me page; to which you, the general public generously donated £550. Also, three other fundraisers did the same, and the total raises was almost £4,000. The Channel 4 video has been viewed over 6m times and has been re-Tweeted by a whole raft of well-known people from Jeremy Corbyn to Russell Crowe. Steve has had a hugely-troubled past; most of which didn't come out in the film clip but much of it is in the public domain; some of it controversial.
Like many rough sleepers, Steve is an alcoholic, and it's very likely to kill him if he doesn't get help soon. Since the fundraising page was set up, and after many calls with various people involved with Steve, it's become clear that he doesn't actually want or need money (he gets given plenty of that from passer-byes). What he needs is support, shelter and counselling (alcohol rehabilitation); a roof over his head and an opportunity to reboot his life. The journalist from Channel 4 who made the film is arranging some of this and Steve is now in her hands.
Whilst it was never the intention to hand over £500 we initially tried to raise straight to Steve (that's the worst thing you can do with an alcoholic), we have raised way more than we ever thought we would. However, you must now be the judge of whether you find it acceptable, in hindsight, to donate to someone with Steve's past; as some had suggested, you would prefer a refund. I am a massive believer in rehabilitation; for if we don't help break viscous social circles, there can be no hope of redemption for those less fortunate than us who are trapped in them.
And so, I am asking you to make a simple choice now:
The funds are distributed between two charities that help homeless veterans and can provide counselling and support that Steve and people like him need. These are Help for Homeless Veterans ( www.help4homelessveterans.org) and Stoll ( www.stoll.org.uk)
because of things in Steve's past you were unaware of when you made your donation, you would prefer your donation be refunded to you-which you can request via Go-Fund-Me page https://www.gofundme.com/steven-rowe-homeless-fund
I will leave the GFM page open for refund requests until midday on Saturday 29th December; after which I distributed the funds per time 1 above.
Life is Neve simple -- but for some, it's way more complicated than others.
https://www.channel4.com/news/homeless-veterans-share-their-stories?fbclid=IwAR1JXns-Nfy4feJVraIcHTKmEG3yX0BSYuOuk7CX_baQA8lZVGbqeHBG62U
Organizer
Parveen Ali
Organizer
England
