Hot chocolate and marshmallows. Easy, comfortable conversation. And lots and lots of socks.
It’s not what you’d normally associate with helping the homeless, but that is exactly what the Sock Mob brings when it goes around London helping those who have no home to return to.
Homelessness has been one of the biggest challenges in London in the past few years, and people have been forced out of their homes for a variety of reasons. The Guardian reported figures from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network that showed a 20% increase in the number of rough sleepers since the same time last year, and charities say that this surge is due to the lack of affordable housing.
The Sock Mob is a fluid enterprise of volunteers that brings socks, food, and other necessary items to homeless people. It is not a formal organisation, but an informal group of volunteers ‘with a desire to put humane principles into everyday, effective action’, according to its Facebook page.
A group of volunteers meets every other Tuesday evening and donates the items that they have collected along the homeless in central London. The last time out, the volunteers split up into smaller groups and divided themselves up among the streets around the Strand near Embankment Station. The groups distributed the socks, food, fruits, clothes, and other essentials along with a hot drink and some easy conversation.
“Making drinks is a great ice breaker,” said Lynn Herrick when asked about her signature hot chocolate she was handing out to homeless family sitting on the curb. “They put the person at ease without making anyone feel awkward.”
Herrick is one of the organisers of the Sock Mob. Founded by three university students in 2008, the group began as three girls walking around the streets giving homeless people what they discovered they needed most – socks. They were initially called the ‘Sock Ladies’, but as their movement became more popular and others wanted to join in, the ‘Sock Ladies’ became the Sock Mob.
Socks are the focus of the group’s donations because “no one likes cold feet, and clean socks make sure your feet stay healthy and avoid disease,” said volunteer Abigail Walker. The Sock Mob doesn’t focus on donating things like food and water because there are plenty of other groups that do so.
Herrick said that the appeal of the group is that it does not require concrete commitment on the part of the volunteers. Most charitable organisations ask you to commit to specific times on specific days, often repeatedly weekly or monthly unlike the Sock Mob, though. “You come when you can come; you just show up and help.” she said.
Dev Agarwal is a walk leader and has been with the group for a year. He has been inspired by how content the homeless people he has encountered seem to be. “We complain about not having the latest phone, not having the latest car, not having a comfortable bed…but they are happy with a cardboard box, knowing that they are sorted for the night.”
The Sock Mob believes that everyone can play a part in making the lives of homeless people a little more comfortable, and recommends socks as the most valuable donation to a homeless person.
The Sock Mob is currently looking for volunteers for it’s Tuesday walks. One of their volunteers, Abigail Walker, is collecting usable socks for donation in a box in the Goldsmiths Student Union.