CRACK+CIDER: the project to keep homeless people warm

Crack+Cider leaflet. Photograph by Federica Tedeschi

The world’s first shop for homeless people, CRACK+CIDER, has opened last week with the aim of keeping many rough sleepers warm during the winter. 

Goodwill shoppers can buy a hat, socks and gloves set for £7 or a backpack for £15, while a winter jacket costs £25. 

The project has been entirely conceived and funded by strategist Charlotte Cramer, 25 and advertising executive Scarlett Montanaro, 26 who met at the University of the Arts in London whilst studying Advertising:

“Living in London, we were walking past many homeless people every single day without doing anything and we felt really bad about it.

“But it wasn’t until we came up with this idea that we started researching and found out the scary statistics on homelessness”.

Charlotte Cramer explained her concern about facts being much worse than government statistics show. She and her business partner have contacted a couple of organisations and found out the actual figure of people sleeping rough in the capital is around 7,000 a year.

“Because the Government statistics are inaccurate, the problem is not receiving the amount of attention it should. We wanted to help homeless people during the winter and chose a provocative name to stimulate discussion among the public”, said Ms Montanaro.

CRACK+CIDER is a provocative name indeed and so far this nonprofit project has received media coverage almost on a daily basis. Even the Labour party and Hackney Council have taken an interest in the debate.

“The topic deserves this type of discussion, it deserves a provocative name because passers-by reluctance to give money to homeless people is based on the assumption that their donations will be spent on crack and cider. This concept has driven the entire project and to ignore it would feel like we have been unnecessarily apologetic”, stressed Charlotte Cramer. 

“We have received a few negative comments about the name CRACK+CIDER, but none of them from a homeless person!

“So many rough sleepers have reached out to us to leave positive comments. During our launch night a homeless man came in asking about the distribution dates and he was very thankful for our idea”, added Scarlett Montanaro.

The initial sales proceeds of CRACK+CIDER are a clear indicator of success and any profits will be reinvested.

“We had initially set ourselves a target of £1,000 stock to be sold during the month of November, but we cleared that in online sales before the actual launch and made another £2,000 during the following 48 hours!

“We feel we have to keep it going with such a positive response and have decided to stay open until the 23^rd of December”, said Ms Montanaro.

CRACK+CIDER relies on five independent distribution partners that work across the capital and their support is really important in order to ensure that all the purchased items  are allocated among those who actually need them. 
“Considering the response so far, we may have to get more distribution partners!”, emphasised Ms Montanaro.

What is the incredible success of CRACK+CIDER really about?

“The project is providing an answer to something that people question every single day, as homelessness is never too far away from us in London. Most CRACK+ CIDER customers are young Londoners between the age of 18 -28 who share the unpleasant feeling of not being able to help those rough sleepers they regularly see on the streets.

“The way our project works is so straightforward that people can understand where the money goes and the impact each donation is going to have. By giving them a tangible benefit of their goodwill, we enable people to donate even more. Not by chance, the average contribution through our website has been £26, while the average donation to a charity is about £9”, highlighted Ms Cramer.

Talking about the future, the two young entrepreneurs really seem determined to expand their project:

“With CRACK+CIDER we would love to set up in another city in the short term, while we think this is a big opportunity to develop a new approach to charitable giving in the long term”.

The project is also a big opportunity for clothing brands to work closely with CRACK+CIDER and contribute to the community.

Goodwill shoppers can visit pop-up shop CRACK+CIDER  in 73 Kingsland Road, Hackney, until December 23. The website, which offers the same items, will remain open after the shop closes: http://crackandcider.com/