Teenager creates charity to support homeless people in Peterborough
A teenager from Bourne has created a charitable project that hand-delivers wellbeing packs to homeless people in Peterborough.
Tom Chalmers, 17, created Help4Homeless after repeatedly seeing a man sleeping rough under a bridge in Peterborough on his walk to work.
The teen said he felt empathy for the man after wondering what kind of daily ordeal he had to endure.
He set up the project in late 2025, and has so far created dozens of the packs – handing out the first 15 to rough sleepers in February.
"I'm in Peterborough most days for work, and walk past this one older man – who I think may have be a veteran,” Tom explains. "I quickly developed empathy for him, thinking about the cold nights and uncertainty he must face each day. I wanted to do something practical to help."
Using his own money, Tom created the first 15 wellbeing packs, which cost £10 each and contain warm socks, a toothbrush and toothpaste, wet wipes, deodorant, snacks, hot chocolate sachets, hand warmers, plasters, lip balm, and a notepad and pen. Packs are personally assembled by Tom at home, before he and his volunteers hand them to rough sleepers on the streets of Peterborough.
Since setting up a website for the project, he has raised £390 – which will be used to purchase a further 39 packs. This will help Tom with his ‘May campaign’ – which aims to give out 31 packs over the 31 days of the month.
“Every penny donated goes directly into a pack,” explains Tom, from Thurlby, a village south of Bourne. “These are people in the same city as all of us, often facing incredibly hard conditions every day."
Since launching, Help4Homeless has formed a dedicated management committee, grown its volunteer team, and begun regular outreach sessions across Peterborough. Tom is now working toward formal registration with the Charity Commission.
“I would love to work in the charity sector in future,” he adds. “It’s just something I feel passionate about.”
• To donate, volunteer, or find out more, head on over to the website help4homeless.co.uk. A £10 donation funds one complete pack, delivered in person to someone sleeping rough in Peterborough.