This family’s creative fight against anti-homeless spikes in their neighborhood is a reminder that we can change our communities

Over the past several years, a number of businesses in the United Kingdom have installed spikes in an effort to prevent homeless people from sleeping in front of their properties. When Jennie Platt of Manchester, U.K., noticed that a Pall Mall Court in her city had taken this action, the mom and her two sons fought the anti-homeless spikes by buying up cushions and pillows at the British chain Primark.

Platt and her sons, George, 11, and Sam, 10, used the cushions and pillows to cover the entire area affected by spikes.

George and Sam recruited their rugby teammates to help, and the group turned the outside of Pall Mall Court into a welcoming space for the homeless, complete with sandwiches, chocolate bars, and a sign that read: “Take a seat and have a bite to eat.”

Platt said she was driven to the action because she viewed the spikes as a cruel and unnecessary blow to a population that’s already suffering.

"I thought it was really mean and a Scroogey thing to do, it is really unnecessary," she told the Manchester Evening News. "It’s a spot where people can keep warm and sheltered, people don’t need to be that mean... It’s not doing anyone any harm them being there."

After images of the Platt’s handiwork went viral on social media, the store’s owners consulted with local councillors and removed the spikes.

Bravo to the Platt family (and their rugby pals) for proving that seemingly small gestures of kindness have the potential to make a world of difference.