Local opticians hosts out-of-hours clinic and offers free glasses to people experiencing homelessness to mark World Homeless Day
In an effort to provide accessible eye care within the local community, a Rushden opticians held an out-of-hours clinic for people experiencing homelessness in the local area.
The locally owned and run store, located on the High Street, offered free eye tests and glasses on Friday 10 October after business hours to create a comfortable and quieter environment where those in need could speak to a healthcare professional.
As part of a nationwide campaign for World Homeless Day, which took place on 10 October, more than 180 Specsavers stores and Home Visits businesses held out-of-hours or pop-up clinics and invited those affected by any form of homelessness to make use of their services.
In partnership with Encompass, the team welcomed a member of the local community. The customer who popped into the store was offered a sight test, OCT scan and glasses.
This clinic was part of Specsavers’ wider homelessness programme to mark World Homeless Day by continuing to improve access to eye care for people experiencing homelessness or facing other barriers to care – whether financial, residential or not being eligible for NHS support.
Emma Darby, store director at Specsavers Rushden, says: ‘To mark World Homeless Day, we were pleased to host our first out-of-hours clinic to offer our services to people experiencing homelessness.
‘I am incredibly proud of the team and thankful to Encompasswho helped make this possible. It is our long-term aim to ensure that everyone can access free, appropriate eye and hearing care which ultimately will help improve quality of life.
‘Specsavers as a business, and as a local team within the local community, is committed to making healthcare accessible to everyone. I really hope that this helps raise awareness of the issue and the current barriers people are facing.’
Gary Brown, CEO at Encompass, comments: ‘We’re incredibly grateful to Specsavers Rushden for going above and beyond to support someone experiencing homelessness. Their compassion and willingness to hold an out-of-hours clinic truly demonstrates the power of community care.’
As well as running eye and ear care clinics across stores outside of World Homeless Day, Specsavers also collaborates with Crisis, Vision Care, Big Issue and other homelessness services to create long-term solutions to remove healthcare barriers.
Specsavers is also calling for changes to government policy to remove unnecessary barriers that make it difficult for people experiencing homelessness to access the eye and ear care they need. Long term plans include influencing policy and systems, so people affected have access to free ear checks, eye tests and glasses, and replacement glasses if broken, lost or stolen.
To find out more, visit specsavers.co.uk/news-and-information/community/homelessness or contact Specsavers Rushden on 01933 417870