Girish Kunigiri joined by son and daughter to raise funds for The Bridge Homelessness to Hope.
Trustee of Leicester-based The Bridge Homelessness to Hope, Girish Kunigiri successfully completed the Southampton marathon on 7 April 2024 to raise £5,000 for the charity.
Girish completed the marathon course with his son, Adithya and his daughter, Ankitha joined him for the half marathon. Girish finished the marathon in 4 hours and 17 minutes.
In addition to his role as a Trustee of The Bridge Homelessness to Hope, Dr Kunigiri is a Medical Director at Lincolnshire’s mental health, learning disability and autism NHS trust, having formerly worked at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust as Interim Medical Director.
Nearly 3,000 people have spent a night sleeping rough in England in 2022, of which around 420 are in Leicester. 80% of the homeless have issues with mental health and a significant proportion have drug and alcohol-related problems.
“I loved running the course with my family, and am very thankful to all of my friends and the public for their generous support. The run has raised the profile of homelessness and the need for the community to do more in terms of inclusivity and providing people with support and an opportunity to reintegrate.
“Treating homelessness comes with unique challenges in delivering services, particularly when it comes to engagement. The homeless community’s priorities are very different from those of the general population who are lucky to have a place to call home every day which is not the case for the homeless. The risk of repeated homelessness is another issue with this group and hence having a coordinated approach by different partners is extremely vital to help such group. The Bridge is keen to develop such partnership working in Leicester."
"I hope that my efforts help to provide the wrap around support for homeless people that is so paramount, such as a focus on holistic care including physical, emotional and psychosocial support."
Dr Girish Kunigiri
