Chris Hunnisett is very clear about what he has achieved: “I have saved lives – I know I have.”
The 51-year-old has worked voluntarily for many years refurbishing donated computers to give to people who cannot afford to buy one.
But his project – Tubbs Computer Supplies – is at risk if he cannot attract more financial donations to pay rent, utility bills and for computer parts, even though he and two helpers are unpaid.
“If everyone in Eastbourne gave us just £1, we would be completely set up,” he declared.
Chris sits in his crammed workshop in The Old Printworks, Wharf Road, in Eastbourne, like a modern-day genial Santa Claus.
He is surrounded by screens, PC towers, laptops and nests of cables stacked high on shelves. Chris is at the forefront of modern technology in the rented offices which were once the home of Beckett Newspapers and its printing presses.
Many devices are in boxes, wiped of data, refurbished and ready to go to people who have no other means of internet access via a computer. Some equipment is sold to bring in income.
He reckons he has helped about 1,500 people over the past ten years or so. Tubbs registered as a Community Interest Company two years ago.
Chris, who lives in Langney, can supply many examples of how he has helped vulnerable people.
He supplied a computer with a webcam to a suicidal man with a phobia of going outside. He says it changed the man’s life, quite possibly saving it, by giving him the ability to communicate with other people.
He has given computers to pupils who were put in detention for not submitting their homework.
And he helped a concerned mother by supplying a computer for her son, who is now training to be a chef.
Chris, who has suffered ill health from heart problems, says he is working up to 80 hours a week just to keep the project afloat.
He shrugs off the stress this can put him under. “It can be a struggle with my heart, but it’s not scary so much as annoying.”
Financially, Tubbs is just surviving from month to month. “We are on a wing and a prayer at the moment.”
He is also clear about his approach: “I help refugees, asylum seekers, anyone on benefits. From my point of view, I just see people who need help.”
“I don’t care about their beginnings or where they are from: they are people first.”
There are about 150 people on his waiting list for devices. Most are referred from the Department for Work & Pensions, social services, Brighton Housing Trust and the NHS.
Chris taught himself how to refurbish computers after supplying one to an ex-partner and her children, realising that many others were in the same position.
In the past he has worked in a wide range of jobs including as a karate instructor, at a stud farm and at McDonald’s, experience he says which has helped him adapt to new experiences.
Chris reckons Tubbs needs £4,000 a month to keep going and asks that people who could afford to do so consider donating.
:: Details to donate directly:
Account name: Tubbs Computer Supplies
Account no: 47530693
Sort Code: 52-41-00
Chris says direct payments saves money on PayPal fees.
I can’t afford a lot but I am sending £5.
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