Social activist Stuart Fenwick is taking inspiration from a former US president

Early in 2014 I was travelling in America and I met up with a friend who lives in Los Angeles. I told her I was surprised by the amount of homeless people in the city. As a result she introduced me to some of her friends who had set up a charity that helped feed the homeless there. I spent some time with them and helped them make up meals and took them round LA offering them to the homeless population. Although a simple idea it was amazing to see people doing something and trying to help others in their community.

When I got back to Edinburgh I thought there was no reason why I couldn’t do the same thing here. I considered it for a while without taking it much further but then in September last year I just decided one night to buy 24 rolls, cheese, ham, chicken, fruit and water and made up meal bags in my kitchen.

I went out that first night by myself and walked around the city centre and gave food to any homeless person I met. Sometimes I would sit and have a chat with them and sometimes they wouldn’t want me to so I didn’t bother them.

I don’t want to just focus on feeding homeless people, I want to do something that helps create a better community where I live.

Stuart Fenwick

Since then I’ve continued to go out as often as I can and on occasions a friend or family member has joined me.

It’s been a bit of a learning curve.

One of the things that struck me is that a lack of food isn’t the only, or even the main problem, for many people who are homeless. It goes beyond that. For example the first few times I went out I took apples with me but many of the people I met told me they weren’t able to eat them because of problems with their teeth. I now take bananas with me instead.

Right now I am in the process of deciding what my next step will be.

I don’t want to just focus on feeding homeless people, I want to do something that helps create a better community where I live.

In January I set up a Facebook group Creating Better Communities (CBC) Edinburgh where I have shared some of the work I have been doing and my thoughts on related topics.

I’ve also used it to appeal for people to donate winter clothes and hope to collect new underwear and socks to distribute simultaneously with handing out meals.

I’ve looked into setting up a charity so that I can get funding and do more but there is a lot of bureaucracy involved so that is on hold for now.

The thing that spurs me on is a quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt that struck a chord with me. It says: “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.”

I hope that whatever the next step for CBC Edinburgh is it will be doing something to pass that test.

You can contact Stuart on Twitter here.