Former homeless man says ‘thank you’ with 200-mile sponsored walk for charity that helped him
A man and his dog who were homeless six months ago are Walking the Wash from Skegness to say thank you to the church who helped them.
Tim Jones had travelled to Skegness for the May Bank Holiday weekend and had planned to pick up a parcel at The Storehouse food bank until he found it was closed for the day.
"So I made camp and went back on Tuesday and iit changed my life,” he said. “After speaking to everyone I stayed.
"When I walked through that door I was homeless but they helped me and now I have a roof over my head and have started my own gardening business.”
Tim decided on the 200-mile walking challenge from Skegness to Thornham, just other side of Hunstanton, and back to raise money for Restore, the charity run by the Storehouse church to help the homeless.”
"Having seen the work they do and now volunteering there myself I wanted to give something back,” Tim explained.
Tim and his four-year-old companion Monty set off from The Storehouse on Friday afternoon. They will follow the coast path through Boston, King’s Lynn and on to Hunstanton in a zig zag inland where there are gaps in the route.
He expects the full walk will take him nine days and during that time he will be wild camping, with just a sleeping bag and a tarp for cover which he has stored in his backpack weighing 35 kilo, five of which are food for his dog.
Restore volunteer Dave Close was amongst a group who gathered outside The Storehouse to see him off.
"It’s amazing how well Tim has done since he first walked through the door at The Storehouse and Restore has helped with that,” he saId. “The fact that he has a purpose now has really helped.
"I think the walk is a brilliant idea and I’m fully behind him – I still think he is crazy though!”
To support Tim, visit his Walking the Wash fundraising page at gofund.me/8d538ec4
You can also follow his progress on Facebook at The Storehouse Church.