A photo of hundreds of people queuing in the snow for food at a soup kitchen in Glasgow has gone viral after social media users lamented the inaction of the government in tackling a worsening poverty crisis.
The image of queues for Kindness Homeless Street Team’s soup kitchen in Glasgow’s George Square has been shared thousands of times on social media after the community group revealed 220 people braved snow and sub-zero temperatures for help on Monday.
Posting on Facebook Graeme Weir compared it to “some Eastern European Country that’s been decimated by years of communist rule”, saying the long queues filled him with rage.
“I know some of these people personally and most of them are good people who have just hit a “wee bump in the road”…… We as a civilised and caring nation need to step up,” he said.
“Even if all you can give is a little mutual respect, a smile and a hey hello the next time you see a homeless person, trust me it can be enough to turn their life around.”
People queuing for food in the snow. Not a photo of the Soviet Union in the 1930s but the U.K. today. How did we allow this to happen on our watch? We should all be ashamed. https://t.co/1mbRO5Zlrh
— Tom Murtha (@tomemurtha) February 10, 2021
Andy Lockhard, the managing director of a finance company who volunteers for Kindness Homeless community group, also shared his frustrations, saying if the community group didn’t exist many people would have nowhere else to go.
“Monday was a particularly busy night for us,” he toldThe Big Issue. “We served between 200 and 220 people. On Wednesday I reckon we will only see, and I say only because the numbers or so big, around 100 to 120 people tonight.
“I think it’s pretty scandalous that we are living in a society where poverty is on our doorstep and people are having to traipse out into the city centre to receive support from a community group.
“The problem is that if we don’t do it then who is going to? It’s about stepping up to the mantle and making sure that these people are supported and services are provided for them.”
Kindness Homeless Street Team has been running a soup kitchen operation throughout the pandemic, operating four nights a week even when temperatures hit -2°C as they did on Monday night.
You can donate to the group to help them out here.
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