ALMOST 1000 vulnerable city residents were helped last year thanks to a city charity.

Starter Packs, based in Govan, helped 996 residents settle in to their new homes in 2014.

The organisation have worked tirelessly for the past 15 years to help locals moving in to new homes with essential household goods.

Last year, they handed out more than 600 packs to individuals and families in need of support.

The charity's manager Jennifer Campbell, said: " It's an important part of them moving into their new tenancy as it's sometimes the first belongings that they've got in the house or the flat. One of the reasons we do what we do is to help people sustain their tenancies and those simple things we provide to them does actually help them stay in the property and make it their home and build from it.

"It is one less thing they need to worry about, one way of actually getting started and properly living in their new home.

"Once they have been given their tenancy, people sometimes have to wait before moving in as they don't have anything with them at the time.

"We give them something they can actually move into; they get bedding, cleaning products, all that kind of stuff so they can start using their properties.

"We know it makes a big difference, we get thank you cards and people phoning up to say thanks. It's quite a big deal for people."

The charity help people many of the city's most vulnerable residents, including those who have just left care and those who have experienced difficulties which leave them without a permanent place to live.

Jennifer added: "We help people from all walks of life - people who have come to homelessness through house fires, relationships breaking down.

"We help asylum seekers, people coming through care and out of care, even people who have come up through the normal council waiting list who are coming from a poor income background.

"They still don't have anything and can't start up themselves so they need a bit of help.

"It's not necessarily homelessness in the way we think it is.

"There are all sorts of reasons why people come to us for help."

Manned by an squad of volunteers, the organisation now has two shops on Govan's Burleigh Street as well as a head office which organises the delivery of the essential home help packs.

Now staff are hoping to increase their volunteer army to include a team of crafters to help revamp furniture.

"The Magpie's Eye has a lot of furniture which gets donated and they sell low-cost furniture through the shop." Jennifer explained.

"However a lot of the furniture we get is in very poor condition and is unsaleable, so we would love to be able to sell this if it was repaired.

"We want to be able to give people the skills by organising training classes to show them how to do the upcycling, giving them a potential for earning money and allowing us to sell the furniture too.

"We want to do this with fabric items too as a lot of bedding we get can't be used as it is stained or ripped, so we would love it if someone could make tote bags or cushions with the material.

"If anybody thinks they can give us any sort of crafting skills they should get in touch."

For more information or to volunteer with the charity, visit www.starterpacks.org.uk, www.facebook.com/starterpacks.magpietribe or email administrator@starterpacks.org.uk.