How Specsavers is bringing essential eye care directly to Big Issue vendors

Rain hammers against the windows of Big Issue’s Cardiff office on a grey November Monday. Inside, it’s controlled chaos. Vendors arrive to collect their magazines, others head to small side-rooms. One of them has been set up as a pop-up wellness clinic for vendors. The other contains a fully functioning temporary optician, provided by Specsavers. By lunchtime, optometrist Hamzat Omo Amiebenomo will have provided free eye tests and glasses to vendors who’ve travelled from across south Wales, some of whom haven’t had proper eye care in years.

This pop-up clinic is part of Specsavers’ ongoing partnership with Big Issue, offering free eye tests, glasses and ear care to all vendors across the UK. The service is also available in stores, but walking into a high street branch is something some vendors may find difficult. Here, healthcare access is brought directly to people who may face significant barriers getting it elsewhere.

John Williams has come up from Swansea. He’s been selling the magazine for a decade now. John knew he needed this appointment. “I’ve had glasses for a good few years now. It must be about 20 years. I started getting headaches, I was doing a lot of computer work at one time.”

Over the years, his prescription has changed. He’s got a slight astigmatism that needs checking annually. But accessing eye care hasn’t always been straightforward. Even with NHS help, the cost could be prohibitive. “Before I got the vouchers supplied by Specsavers, it might be 60, 70 quid for new glasses, which is a lot. It’s a lot of money. Then you go, what am I eating? What about electricity?”

Tom Watts, Big Issue’s regional manager for the area, sees these barriers to healthcare constantly. “Eye health is something that our vendors definitely neglect,” he says. “Other health issues, like dental problems, will come with a lot of pain so they feel urgent. An eye issue might not cause such an immediate problem, so it’s often the last thing that gets addressed.”

He lists the obstacles: trying to get appointments, remembering to attend them, language barriers for vendors whose first language isn’t English. But the biggest issue is fear of being judged. “Loads of fear, fear of that judgement. That’s massive.”

Stuart Drucker, who sells at farmers markets and helps in the office on Mondays, puts it bluntly. “When you’re homeless your eyes can go, and you don’t do much about it.” He’d been having dizzy spells and collapsing while selling in Whitchurch. “I was having a lot of headaches. Big Issue got hold of Specsavers, and they got me a free pair of glasses, which usually cost quite a bit. I’m really grateful. They’re brilliant.”

That’s exactly what Hamzat wants to hear, knowing that there are psychological as well as practical barriers to eye care faced by many people living in poverty. “Firstly, it’s the rejection most people who are homeless feel,” he says. “What we’ve been able to do here is bring about acceptance. Vendors are happy that the opticians have come to them, and don’t look down on them.”

He’s joined today by Emma, a dispensing optician, and Molly, an optical assistant – volunteers giving their time to provide this care.

The issues Hamzat sees are familiar: difficulty reading, short-sightedness, problems with distance vision. “It’s the same issues we all have as humans,” says Hamzat. “A lot of them are short sighted. A lot of them cannot see the television clearly. A lot of them cannot read clearly. But it comes with rejection as well. The joy of what we’re doing here is that we’re coming to them. People are very happy.”

For John, clear vision is fundamentally important both to his work and to his quality of life. “If I couldn’t see properly, I couldn’t see how much people are giving me. I couldn’t work my phone to use my card reader.” More than that: “I wouldn’t be able to see the smiling faces. Where I am in Clydach, I’ve been up there for four years, and I’ve got to know a lot of them. I’ve seen little puppies grow up to dogs. They all know me. I’d miss all that if I couldn’t see properly.”

Outside, the rain continues. Inside, the work goes on bringing essential eye care to people who need it most, one appointment at a time.

To find out more, email homelessness@specsavers.com or visit https://www.specsavers.co.uk/about/charitable-partnerships/homelessnes