Danny's Crusade for the Homeless

DANNY Batth has big issues. There’s Chelsea in the FA Cup on Saturday and there’s the plight of the homeless in this country.

- John Wragg

Batth, Wolves fan, centre-half and captain, is relishing Chelsea coming to a packed Molineux on Saturday, floodlights on, expectancy as bright, for a place in the quarter-finals.

Then, Batth, who was born in Brierley Hill, ten miles from Molineux, wants to do something for those in his city with no home and little hope and will be making an announcement about his plans.

Batth has been out on the streets of Wolverhampton selling the Big Issue and what he saw inspires him to do more.

“I came across Big Issue sellers all the time and I’ve been as guilty as most of walking past and not asking the question,” he says.

“Everyone does, don’t they? Everyone thinks ‘drugs’, ‘alcohol’, ‘he deserves it’. But when you actually meet the people...

“There was one who used to be a solicitor and is now selling the Big Issue because she was evicted from her house, couldn’t get rent on another one. She’d lost her job through being made redundant.

“When you are homeless you can’t get employed because you need a home address. It’s a vicious circle.

“I thought why not raise a bit of awareness, it was only a couple of hours of my time.”

It was the Christmas before last when Batth went on the streets. He stood with two different groups in different parts of the city and he made £150.00 that he gave to them.

“They weren’t football fans. They didn’t ask for an autograph. They said thanks for helping me. I hope it made an impact. I hope they will sell a few more copies in Wolverhampton now,” he says.

Accessible

“It’s not going to be the last thing I do either. There are a lot of things I want to do and I will be pulling all that together.

“I buy the Big Issue now and I would go and sell it again, but what I’m thinking of is bigger.