Help Herbert, the homeless man!

"I know very little about him except that he sits outside my house every day," says Birna María Styff who, along with her friend Maríanna Ástmarsdóttir are raising money to help Herbert Marinósson, a homeless man in Reykjavik. 

Herbert has been homeless for eight years and sits on the same bench on Hverfisgata in central Reykjavik every single day. Styff explains to mbl.is that she talks to him every day and that it's important that he gets help. Ástmarsdóttir set up a Facebook page called Hjálpum Herberti (Help Herbert) a few days ago. 

On the Facebook page, the two young women have published a newspaper article which appeared when Herbert turned sixty, and it turns out he's a former helmsman from Seyðisfjörður, East Iceland.  

He needs a roof over his head

According to Styff, Herbert needs a roof over his head, first and foremost. "He also needs warm clothes for the winter, something that can't be too hard to provide, he needs a pedicure and someone to look at his feet because they hurt him a lot. We've already sorted that out. But he really needs a place to stay, he's 73 years old now and he's tired of living on the street."

She believes Herbert lost his home eight years ago. "He is such a kind, sweet and polite man. He always says good morning to people and smiles. But he doesn't want to be pitied. He doesn't want people talking to him that way. We just want to help him." Styff explains that she told Herbert about the collection they set up for him. "He thought it was a bit weird but he was happy when we told him he'd be getting someone to look at his feet. He's getting a foot massage on Thursday. This is just the beginning."

The government should be ashamed

She adds that she feels it's shameful that people live on the street in Iceland. "I think the government should be ashamed because they're seeing our people sleeping outside. We would never treat children like this, children can't just live on the street, and noone should."  She believes that homeless people in Iceland should receive much more help. "Of course we should all reach out to people on the street. It's uncomfortable to be a privileged pleb, and to walk past people who sleep on benches. "

Styff gave Herbert a warm meal a few days ago. "I've never seen anyone more grateful. He's obviously not used to warm food. I also gave him some bread and he was amazed to get a whole loaf. He broke it in half and wanted me to have the other half."

If you would like to help out, the Facebook page for Herbert is HERE. 

Birna María Styff sees Herbert almost every day outside her home. Photo/ private collection