St Helens roofer turns his vans into homeless shelters in the big freeze

A St Helens roofer turned his vans into shelters for homeless people when temperatures dropped to below zero.

And Jon, from St Helens, who owns his own company The Roof Rangers, says he’ll do it again if the big freeze returns.

“Nobody deserves to live that,” he says. “Nobody should be out there dying of cold when you can so easily do something about it. 

“I’ve had my ups and downs in life, I’ve slept in my car for a few nights, and I would have liked to have thought there was someone out there to help me.”

And he adds: “It might sound selfish, but it makes me feel good.”

Dad-of-two Jon leapt into action after driving through McDonald’s in the town centre last Thursday night and seeing homeless people huddled up against the building.

He says: “They just had cardboard over the top of them and they were shaking.  I drove home but I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  They were playing on my mind.

“So I got the tools out of my vans and bought mattresses and quilts, and got heaters to create shelters for them for the night.”

Jon had one van was outside his house not far from the centre of St Helens and another outside a friend’s home in nearby Thatto Heath.

“Once I’d got them set up, I went out and got as many homeless people off the streets as could,” he says. “They had a wash in my home, and I fed them, and I kept going out with regular brews to keep them warm.

“One night when I went to bed there were two people in the van outside mine and in the morning there were five – and a dog! But I wasn’t cross, they were trying to survive. It’s crazy.”

As well as setting up the temporary shelters in his vans for four nights, John went out and bought 30 pairs of gloves, 30 hats, 30 hot water bottles and 30 flasks and went handing them out to people he met on the streets.

“I have been lucky with my company and I can help, and it sounds daft, but I feel I was destined to do this.”

Jon has been a good Samaritan for a number of years now, and is well-known for having completed numerous good deeds including handing money to a struggling mum-of-three who lost cash while shopping; delivering flowers and £500 in financial support to a woman from Parr who’d lost her son, and buying a tent, clothes and food for a homeless man he came across in Wigan.

He has supported Alder Hey and Whiston Hospitals with Christmas present appeals but now goes out personally delivering gifts to hundreds of children including those in care homes every year.

“I’m just trying to make a difference,” says Jon, who has two sons, Carter, 11, and Brody, nine.  “I’d hate to think of my children one day being in this situation; and it could happen to any of us.  These are just people who have been dealt a bad hand.

“A couple of years ago I was sleeping in my car and then ended up in a house share briefly when my marriage broke down. It was rough – but at least I ended up with a warm bed for the night. It’s not a nice place to be in, and I don’t want anyone else to feel like I did.”

With hopes of one day starting his own charity, Jon now sets aside 20% of The Roof Rangers’ profits to help people who need it.

“I am reminded of what I’ve been through and when I’ve struggled, and it’s tough,” says Jon. “But if you can offer even the tiniest bit of help, it can make a massive difference.

“No-one should be sleeping rough and more needs to be done to change this situation, but until then if I can do something, and make somebody’s life even a bit better, then I’ll be there.”

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