A clearer vision this Christmas with Big Issue and Specsavers

For people facing extreme poverty and homelessness, Christmas can be one of the hardest times of year. And the festive period is when the difficulty of accessing basic healthcare is often felt sharply. That’s why Specsavers has expanded its partnerships with Big Issue, Crisis and Vision Care for Homeless People (VCHP) this festive season, building on a year-round commitment to break down barriers to essential healthcare.

Since November 2022, all Big Issue vendors have been offered free eye tests, OCT scans and glasses through Specsavers’ programme to support people experiencing homelessness. This also includes ear wax removal and ear checks – vital services that can be difficult to access without a permanent address.

“External eye infections, cataracts, untreated glaucoma – the risks [to people experiencing homelessness] are significant,” explains Michael O’Kane, Specsavers optometrist who volunteers at the VCHP clinic in Edinburgh Crisis Skylight. “One of the biggest issues is simply not having access to glasses.”

Michael recently treated a patient whose prescription was so strong – minus 16, which is extremely rare and debilitating – that she could barely see anything more than a few inches away from her eyes. “Her partner was with her, he was really protective of her and guided her everywhere. She’d lost her glasses years ago,” he says. “We were able to provide her with new glasses. The change in her quality of life is going to be massive compared to how she had been surviving.” Patients with this degree of myopia have a greater risk factor for visual conditions such as retinal detachment, so this must be carefully monitored throughout their lives. This was an easy solution to a severe problem: an eye test, a prescription and a free pair of glasses can change someone’s life completely.

Specsavers is expanding these vital services this Christmas. In London, where Crisis at Christmas clinics start on Christmas Eve, Specsavers’ and other volunteers will support 20 eye and ear care clinics. Additionally, Specsavers is running a further eight eye care and seven ear care clinics in regional Crisis Skylights in Birmingham, Oxford, Swansea, Merseyside and Newcastle. The need is urgent. According to VCHP, one in three people experiencing homelessness need glasses. Nearly 65% say they’d put off going to a high-street optician. And that can have far-reaching consequences.

“You need to have regular eye examinations to detect conditions like glaucoma,” Michael explains. “It’s a silent thief of sight. You won’t know you have it until it’s too late. As you lose field of vision, your brain continues to paint in the picture and compensate for the missing information, so [without an eye test] you’re ignorant of the fact that this field of vision is constricting. Eventually, you will go blind with it.”

Without a fixed address, basic health care is difficult to access. “If I was to refer you for a non-urgent procedure, like a cataract surgery, you could be waiting 18 months,” Michael explains. In unstable accommodation, moving around a lot, appointment letters easily get lost. The hope is that Specsavers’ clinics can start to plug these gaps.

Affording comparatively basic treatments, like clinical wipes and eye drops from a pharmacy, can be difficult for people in extreme poverty. But not having them can lead to complications. Michael explains: “An untreated condition such as blepharitis, an eyelid infection, can cause ulceration of the cornea and can result in blindness. And it can be treated with easily available wipes.” VCHP clinics offer eye drops and wipes for those that need them, and with the support of Specsavers, they can provide glasses free of charge.

“Even sunlight can sting with an eye infection,” Michael says, recalling a patient with severe blepharitis. “He was walking around, not able to see very well, had nowhere to sleep, was worried about where he was going to eat, and even the sun was hurting him.” At the clinic he received cleaning wipes and medication. “When he came back, he was in such better shape, and then he could see better with the glasses [we were able to provide] too.”

Matt Downie, Crisis Chief Executive, emphasises the importance of these services: “We know that people facing homelessness meet significant barriers when trying to access the healthcare they need and can go years without having an eye test, putting them at risk of developing serious eye health conditions. Being able to connect the people we support to vital healthcare services plays a huge part in someone’s first step out of homelessness.”

For the optometrists and volunteers involved, the work has changed their perspective on homelessness, and brought home how easy it can be for people to become homeless.

“Any of us could be three or four missed pay cheques, or maybe a significant life event like a divorce, away from homelessness,” Michael reflects. “You could easily slip into that situation yourself. I think there’s a public consensus of ‘that’s someone else, that could never happen to me’. Volunteering has really brought home to me just how easily it could happen.”

Basic healthcare, however, is not something that should ever just be for Christmas. Alongside its work with Crisis and VCHP, Specsavers continues to offer free eye tests and glasses to Big Issue vendors year-round and now provides out-of-hours eyecare clinics in some of its high street stores.

Jo Osborne, Homelessness Programme Lead at Specsavers, comments: “At Specsavers, we’re deeply committed to ensuring that essential healthcare, like eye and ear care, is accessible to everyone, no matter their circumstances.

“Our partnerships with Big Issue, Crisis, and Vision Care for Homeless People don’t just allow us to offer these services over Christmas; they enable us to extend our year-round work, providing access to better health and wellbeing for those most in need. Access to care shouldn’t be a privilege – it should be universal, and we’re proud to be part of this mission.”

“Christmas can be a cold and very lonely time for a lot of people,” Michael says. “The clinics offer a real connection for people. You literally see the difference with every patient. I’m looking forward to being part of it.”

Crisis is still seeking volunteers for its Christmas services in London, which run from 24 December for two weeks. To learn more about their volunteering opportunities or to donate, visit crisis.org.uk/CrisisAtChristmas2024

Find out more about Specsavers’ work with people experiencing homelessness at specsavers.co.uk/news-and-information/community/homelessness