Kensington teenager honoured for hygiene kits for the homeless
A teenager who turned the family living room into a makeshift centre to process hygiene kits for the homeless has been recognised for his efforts.Rohan Mehta, from Kensington in west London, founded his In The Bag project two years ago.So far, the 17-year-old has donated 130 bags containing toiletries, toothbrushes and other items to homeless Londoners.Rohan, who is studying for his A-level exams at Latymer Upper School, was given the Young Achiever award by Kensington and Chelsea Council and recognised with a civic honour by Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
The philanthropic teen said homelessness had always been an issue that really affected him.Rohan said when he was small and would spot someone on the street, he would ask his parents if they could provide that person with money or food. "I always knew I wanted to do something to be part of the solution so when I got a little bit older, I thought, what tangible stuff could I do?"I wanted to create something practical that could really help people, not just raise awareness, but give them something that could make them feel a little bit better, give them back some of their dignity. That's why I wanted to start In The Bag."Rohan was only 15 when he began developing the idea.
His family's living room quickly filled with shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, toothbrushes and toothpaste.He said: "I wanted to focus on something with daily hygiene. When you're homeless, you don't have access to a lot of these things and when you're able to stay in a shelter overnight, for example, if you're able to clean yourself up properly, it makes you feel a lot better."When I started studying economics, I started getting this idea of a job-seeking element to this and the whole cycle of poverty and I realised how incredibly difficult it was to break that."You really cannot have a job interview if you do not look presentable and clean... so I wanted to do my part in sort of breaking that barrier because it's really, really difficult."
His efforts have been recognised by two London councils. In March, he was handed the Young Achiever's Award by the mayor of Kensington and Chelsea. In April, he was given a civic honour by Hammersmith and Fulham Council for his contributions to building a stronger, safer, kinder borough.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
03-06-2025
- BBC News
London Underground drug use falls for first time in three years
The number of incidents of drug use on London Underground has fallen for the first time in three years, figures British Transport Police (BTP) recorded 470 incidents in 2024-25, down from 589 the previous year. The data, released by Transport for London (TfL) in response to a Freedom of Information request, recorded 63 instances of white powder or substance in its drug log and 56 reports of said it was "committed to reducing crime across our network" and was working with its policing partners to keep customers and colleagues safe as they travel and work. Hammersmith station had the most incidents recorded, at seven, followed by Oxford Circus, with number of drug use incidents recorded in 2020-21 was 526. In 2021-22, there were 390 drug use incidents, rising to 506 in added: "We have a large team of police officers and police community support officers as well as our own enforcement staff patrolling the network at all times to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, alongside operations to target offenders and hotspot locations."The BTP said while the statistics were pleasing there was more work to be done, adding it "routinely conducted operations at transport hubs and hotspots, guided by intelligence, to disrupt county lines, seize drugs, and arrest offenders who make a living exploiting the vulnerable".
Metro
01-06-2025
- Metro
My child came out as trans – I wish I reacted differently
It had started as an ordinary Friday night with my husband Damien. Then my child texted. Damien read it aloud – it said our child would now like to be called Rohan and referred to as our son. I was in shock. I didn't know what to do, so I burst into tears and tried to pretend things would go back to normal in the morning. This was in January 2022 when Rohan was just 18 and it honestly felt like my world had fallen apart. Over the next few weeks I felt so many negative emotions, including anger, guilt, sadness, and worry. I found myself searching for signs I had missed in my memories of Rohan as a child, and whether I could have done things differently. In the years leading up to this text, we were in lockdown and Rohan found it really hard to be stuck at home. He had just started at a new college and should have been meeting new people and being a typical 17-year-old. He began experimenting with baggy clothes and even shaved his head – I wanted to support him with his mental health struggles, but I wasn't sure how. He seemed so unhappy. Rohan had moved out of the house four months prior to study at university. With thousands of members from all over the world, our vibrant LGBTQ+ WhatsApp channel is a hub for all the latest news and important issues that face the LGBTQ+ community. Simply click on this link, select 'Join Chat' and you're in! Don't forget to turn on notifications! When he came out to us, it felt like I had no idea how to handle things. I had never lived with a teenage son and I didn't know how to do it. I struggled to talk to Rohan during this time. Luckily, Damien found it easier to adjust. Rohan had firm plans on his next steps – legally changing his name and starting to medically transition. It felt like it was all moving too fast for me, but Damien made sure he told me everything they discussed, and sometimes I just listened in on their phone calls. I began to adjust to hearing my son again. Gradually, I began to text Rohan, explaining we needed to take this very slow, and then finally, we had a conversation. I told him that I was sorry for my inability to speak to him, but I needed to take everything gradually. It was good to talk to Rohan so openly. It felt the same as it always had done – I was still talking to the child I always knew – but different in so many ways. Where my son had been struggling so much with his mental health previously, he was now excited about the future. Over time, we practised using Rohan's new name and pronouns – with many, many mistakes along the way. In those early days, I couldn't understand his feelings or what he was going through. In fact, the more I thought about it, the harder it got. But when I realised I will never truly understand – because I am not trans – I began to accept it. That's when things got better. I had to find the courage to message groups of family and friends, a few at a time. It was so hard and I was so surprised when everyone messaged back with so much love. With each new message of support, I began to realise that Rohan's identity was something to celebrate rather than be embarrassed about. Even my mum agreed to call him Rohan, and used 'he' instead of 'she'. I was so happy that she could welcome her new grandson into the family with ease. Around a month after Rohan came out, I found out one of my colleagues also had a trans son too – he and his family were almost a year ahead of us in their journey with his transition. We met for coffee and chatted, cried a lot, and laughed. It was such a relief to have someone as a support. We could support each other whenever we needed it with a quick text, a hug when we saw each other, and great chats. I gradually began to realise that – yes, I was finding it hard to tell people, but what would it have been like for Rohan? How did he feel? How confused had he been? How long had he struggled with who he is? That's when I tried to think less about me and more about my son! I knew he had been finding the latter teenage years difficult but I realised it was far harder than I could ever imagine. I wanted my son to be happy, and that was by far the most important thing to me. Today, I am so proud of what Rohan has achieved. He is a confident, handsome young man that I am proud to have as my son. You can find Just Like Us's LGBT Guide for Parents here. Rohan is back at university after taking some time out from studying and moving back home to adjust to a new version of life. He is now very settled, and happy with a lovely girlfriend. Our bond is actually stronger, as he now knows who he is and can be himself. Rohan became an ambassador for Just Like Us – a charity supporting young LGBTQ+ people – where he would get the chance to tell others his story. More Trending He told me about Just Like Us's LGBT+ Guide for Parents – an invaluable resource for parents to have that one document that has all the information you need about information and terminology. Nothing is more valuable than a parent who is open and willing to learn about their child. Support at home for young trans people is so important because parents are a huge part of their child's life. At the end of the day, your child is the same child regardless of their name, how they present themselves, or who they love. It has been a hard journey – not just for me accepting this, but an incredibly hard journey for Rohan. I cannot imagine what he has gone through, but the least I can do is help him be himself. Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. MORE: Pride doesn't come cheap — the LGBTQ+ 'queer tax' has cost us thousands MORE: The date was going well – until we hit a strip club MORE: There's an LGBTQ+ film festival you can attend without even leaving the house
BBC News
29-05-2025
- BBC News
London council reprimanded after exposing sensitive data
A west London council has been reprimanded after personal details of more than 6,500 people including "sensitive" data about children was left online for almost two and Fulham Council inadvertently published the data when responding to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request in October local authority's response included an excel spreadsheet with 35 hidden workbooks, 10 of which contained personal details, which was not discovered until November 2023.A council spokesperson said the error was fixed as soon as they were notified and staff are no longer allowed to supply information using the same format. 'Children in council care' The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), said the council's response to the FoI was uploaded to its own online disclosure log and provided to the website What Do They Know? (WDTK), which the request was made published the response on its own site in December breach was not identified until WDTK completed a review of its website, after which it informed the council. The information was taken down from both to the ICO, a total of 6,528 people were affected, 2,342 of whom were the adult data set included council employees, former employees and agency staff, the personal information belonging to children was described as sensitive in nature and related to the placement of looked-after children in the council's care. The ICO said children's personal data is considered "deserving of specific protection" and in this case, of particular concern was the personal data belonging to 96 unaccompanied asylum-seeking is no evidence the data was inappropriately accessed, processed or ICO noted a number of remedial steps taken by the council, including that redaction and disclosure guidance has been updated and training completed with the relevant team.
