It’s a cliché that beauty pageant contestants will be asked about their hopes and wishes, and most of the time they will give a classic reply about ‘world peace’, but Bristol’s top beauty queen is hoping to solve a problem a little bit more local.
For the housing crisis in the city is so bad, that even Miss Bristol will be going to the Miss Great Britain competition as part of a campaign on homelessness in Bristol.
Imogen Chapman is the current Miss Bristol and will return to the Miss Great Britain competition later this month after finishing as first runner-up last year. But when she’s not bowling over the judges at national pageants, she’s volunteering at a homeless charity in the city, and will take a message about just how bad the housing crisis is in Bristol with her to the national finals.
The 25-year-old first became aware of the realities of the homeless crisis in Bristol when she started using a city centre car park, and instantly decided to try to play a part in solving the problems. She started working as a volunteer in a Bristol homeless charity when she was just 17, and has been helping regularly at BOSH, the Bristol Outreach Services for the Homeless, ever since.
As part of her bid to win Miss Great Britain, Imogen has been documenting experiences at the homeless service, and says she will lobby for change if she is crowned Miss Great Britain on Friday, October 18.
“She was moved by her encounters with the homeless community who frequented the car park, so began working at the Bristol homeless charity at the tender age of just 17,” said a spokesperson for the Miss Great Britain contest.
“Imogen wants to shine a light on the declining support for UK hostels and the socio-economic issues which contribute to the cycle of homelessness. She has been documenting some of the struggles and issues experienced by service users of the facility she volunteers at. If she wins Miss GB, she vows to use her new platform to lobby for change to the UK social housing system,” she added.
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