OPINION - I was once homeless and addicted in London so I know charities like this make a difference

I’m not being funny but… Today I’d like to talk about People In Need Today (Pint). This grassroots London-based charity began 17 years ago and not enough people are talking about the amazing work they do.

One of the founders, Cee, used to be a music manager and so he’d spend time in community centres and council estates looking for young people to mentor, people with talent.

More and more, he was seeing kids spending time out on the streets later than they were supposed to be. It soon became apparent these kids had nowhere to go — spending the night on the streets and then changing into their school uniform the next morning. Too often, they wouldn’t be able to go home because they had abusive fathers or addict mothers and so on. That’s when Pint began.

The charity started reaching out to these kids, providing them with warm meals, some mentorship and support. Eventually things started to improve in these kids’ lives and they would start saying, “we just ate today, give it to that man over there”.

Cee told me: “These children showed us just how bad it was. We supported everyone however we could, one or two days a week. One day we had a queue of 11 people outside my studio and that really affected us.”

Eventually they decided to run the charity full time with volunteers. Walking the streets, looking for the vulnerable to help out. It doesn’t get more hands-on than that to be honest. They’ve been consistently feeding 600 to 700 people a week, providing support for victims of domestic abuse, clothing, whatever they can get their hands on that may be useful to someone trying to restart.

You may know already, but there was a time in my life where I was homeless. During my darkest days I didn’t have a penny to my name or a bed to sleep in. I was in the pits of my addiction and somehow still working. Turning up to a gig stinking, getting my money and blowing it all on drugs.

What we see today, the epidemic of people without homes, has steadily been getting worse. While I was obviously an addict, it’s important to understand that’s not the majority. The guys from Pint come across former engineers, doctors, police officers living rough. Most of them aren’t under the influence of addiction, they’ve just been hard done by in life.

What I’m asking today is that we show a bit of extra time and compassion to this cause. Search Pint Giving on socials and go see for yourself the incredible work it does every day. Donate money, items or your time.

I always say, you never know if that homeless person might just save someone’s life one day.

We all know those nightmare stories of charity giants barely spending any actual money on helping individuals — it can sometimes put us off helping. Well here I am talking to you about a charity where everything is put back into the community and in the most compassionate way.

I am so glad I’m able to use my platform for this. We all have a platform these days no matter how big or small, so use it. Spread the word about the amazing work they do and if you can share a pound or two, even better.

Exciting launches in London are always welcome

I don’t often talk here about the gigs I do. With the start of the Ibiza season having arrived and my gig at Glastonbury just announced, I thought I’d take a bit of time to let you know what I’ll be getting up to in London this week.

Twelve years ago I got invited to play at the opening party of SushiSamba at the Heron Tower. Well, I’m excited to share that I was invited back for the launch of a new space. It has had a full refurbishment and looks fantastic. It’s so nice to be invited to be part of something all these years later as you have evolved and now the space too has evolved. You’d better go check it out.

New, exciting spaces for London are always welcome. See you next Wednesday.

Track of the week: London — Hifi Sean, Severino and FERAL is KINKY

Fat Tony is a DJ and bestselling author