Bristol man inspires scheme to help city's homeless

Billy Abernethy-Hope was just 20 years old when he was killed in a motorbike accident while on holiday in Thailand.

However, before he died, he came up with an idea to help homeless people.

Billy was inspired to make a change when he noticed a reluctance from the public to help the homeless

Two months before he passed away, Billy noticed a reluctance among some people to give money to those living on the streets because they were unsure of how that money would be spent.

Billy came up with the idea of a token that members of the public could buy and hand out to homeless people, instead of money. This token could then be used by a homeless person in exchange for a hot or cold drink of their choosing.

Billy's family have made sure his legacy lives on

Billy was sadly never able to see his idea come to fruition, but his family have kept it alive.

With the help of his sister Meg, the Billy Chip scheme has now been adopted by 12 businesses across Bristol - and Boston Tea Party are the most recent franchise to sign up.

Thanks to his family, a dozen businesses have signed up to the scheme Billy thought up

Anyone can buy a Billy Chip from a cafe that has signed up for £2. The idea is for this chip to then be handed to a homeless person, instead of money or instead of food or drink being bought for them, to give those living on the streets more choice and independence.

Billy's family say the Billy Chip is a not-for-profit project, and any money raised is handed out to other charitable organisations that also support homeless people.