New children's book aims to raise awareness of homelessness

The book, written by Mawuena Rankine, aged 35 from Wednesbury, is called Dana’s Not-so-ordinary Day.

It was inspired by her experience as a volunteer for Active Christians, which is an outreach group based in the Midlands, and part of the charity Homeschool Social Enterprise.

Explaining the book, Mrs Rankine said: "It is about a little girl. She has been saving money for a pair of roller-skates.

"She has the opportunity to buy some when her grandparents come to visit her. They bring her some money for her school report.

"As she is going to buy the skates, she notices a homeless man. She uses decides to use her money to buy him some food.

"At the end of the book, a parcel arrives for her with a pair of skates inside.

"The moral of the story is when you do good things, good things happen."

The group Mrs Rankine is part of gained recognition when founder, Colin Rankine, her husband, published footage of a young homeless man called Kane Walker, who died on the streets of Birmingham in 2019.

The footage sparked a national outcry as the country became exposed to the realities of life on the streets.

Mrs Rankine added: "The story is inspired by my experience. A lot [of homeless people] feel they are overlook, with people used to seeing them.

"The point is wanted to get across is adults can overlook simple things whereas a child is able to see those things."

The book is available to purchase on Amazon, priced at £6.99 in paperback and £3.99 on Kindle.