Random acts of kindness from teens

Teens from the National Citizen Service and Petrus raising awareness of their campaign, 'Houseless not Homeless'

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A group of youngsters with big hearts took to the streets of Rochdale town centre to offer random acts of kindness and to “stamp out” intolerance in communities.

Free henna, pots of fruit and sweets were given out by the teens from the NCS (National Citizen Service), who had teamed up with Rochdale homeless charity Petrus to raise awareness of their campaign, 'Houseless not Homeless', as well as other projects generally promoting kindness.

A young primary school-aged girl approached the group with her lunch bag, and told the team to “give it to a homeless man that needs it”.

A member of the NCS team who was giving out freebies on Yorkshire Street said: “We don’t like the term homeless. We believe you are loved and have a purpose and that doesn’t make you homeless, it makes you houseless.”

“People have an unfair view of the homeless and it can result in us turning our backs on the most vulnerable members of society. We believe we should get rid of the stigma.”

In front of the town centre Cenotaph, opposite Rochdale Town Hall, young NCS members were promoting another project called 'grow plants, not problems'.

A more general project aimed at appreciating each other in an ever-changing society, the youngsters were giving out pots of fresh fruit, plants and encouraging passers-by to communicate.

“It’s all about just being a human being. Times are tough right now, and it’s the most important time ever to pull together and be nice to one another. Please will you take some fruit?”

NCS is a national youth program aimed at getting young people between the ages of 15 and 17 into productive activities and embark on positive challenges. More than 200,000 teens have already joined up and benefitted from the service.