Double decker bus transformed into shelter for the homeless.

Kind Hearted Woman Remodels Double Decker Turns Into "Bus Home" For The Homeless

Some people are born to be heroes. Not the typical heroes that wear capes and a costume; they are just ordinary looking, but within, their hearts are shining like a diamond.

Sammy Barcroft and Joanne Vines

Meet friends Sammy Barcroft and Joanne Vines. They founded The Rucksack Project which collects bags full of essential goods for the homeless. If that wasn’t charitable enough for some, they also decided to build a shelter for the homeless — but it’s not a traditional shelter in any way.

Joanne and Sammy took a double-decker bus and converted it from 72 seats to 12 beds for the homeless in the United Kingdom.

The bus has gone from 72 seats to 12 beds.

“Someone suggested to me in 2016, why don’t you get a bus and convert it into a homeless shelter?” Joanne recalled. “I thought about it a lot of times. In January I put a plea out on social media saying, ‘Would anyone like to offer me a bus?’ And I got three offers!”

Amazingly, one of those offers was from the bus company Stagecoach. They had a twenty-year-old Volvo Olympian double-decker bus that was going the scrap yard, but they decided to donate it to their philanthropic cause instead. Take care of the poor dog that desperately needed the urgent care.

12 bunk beds.

Joanne parked the double-decker bus in Fareham near her house and then put a plea out like DIY SOS to fit a kitchen, bunk beds, etc.

It wasn’t long before Joanne and Sammy had up to 80 volunteers willing to help with the transformation of the bus. They also raised over $8,000 through donations and crowdfunding.

They also made kitchen ready for use.

Luckily, a college in the area offered to make and donate bunk beds for the unique homeless shelter. The local housing association also donated a fully functioning kitchen, and good men - an electrician and plumber gave free services as well.

The entire project took approximately eight months to complete and will be stationed at St. Agatha’s Church in Portsmouth, England. Their goal is to provide services and necessities to the homeless. It will help provide a place to stay for some of the estimated 300,000 homeless people in the UK.

Bus shelter in Portsmouth, UK.

After all of the work and donations, the project has an estimated valued worth of more than $33,000. The completion of the project has left Joanne with bittersweet emotions.

Joanne is delighted that their work is finally done and it will help a lot of people in the area.

It’s entirely incredible and inspiring to see what happens when people’s generosity and compassion shines through.

“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.”

- Chinese Proverb