Charities unite to end homelessness

A total of 18 charities have come together to address rough sleeping and homelessness, launching the new London Homeless Charities Group on Friday 15 December with a winter campaign backed by the Mayor of London.

Welfare changes, soaring housing costs, and a shortage of affordable accommodation mean that more and more people are left with nowhere to call home, with official figures showing that rough sleeping has more than doubled in London since 2010.

The London Homeless Charities Group, which includes The Salvation Army, St Mungos, Crisis, YMCA England & Wales and others, is joining forces with the Mayor on the ‘No One Needs To Sleep Rough In London’ campaign, calling on the public to join the fight to help ensure there is a way off the streets for people sleeping rough in the capital this winter.

The campaign is aiming to raise awareness and offers an easily accessible single donation point to Londoners, with all funds generated going equally to all 18 charities to help provide vital services and direct support where it’s most needed.

The campaign also wants Londoners to take action when they see someone sleeping rough and provide information to the national referral service StreetLink to help connect someone with local outreach services. 

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I know there are millions of Londoners who want to do something to help rough sleepers get off the streets for good. That’s why I am pleased to be joining forces with our new coalition of charities dedicated to this cause, offering a single donation point for Londoners who want to give money to those who need help the most. I urge Londoners to donate and join me in helping people sleeping on our streets to connect with vital services.”

Anyone who wants to help this winter can donate at www.gofundme.com/endroughsleeping?pc=TSA and find out more about the Mayor of London’s ‘No One Needs To Sleep Rough In London’ campaign https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/well-never-turn-our-backs-rough-sleepers.

Editorial notes:

The London Homeless Charities Group comprises of: The Albert Kennedy Trust, Centrepoint, The Connection at St Martins, Crisis, Depaul, Homeless Link, Housing Justice, LandAid, New Horizon Youth Centre, Providence Row, Shelter, St Mungo’s, Thames Reach, The Big Issue, The Passage, The Salvation Army, West London Mission, YMCA England & Wales. The total number of rough sleepers seen rough sleeping in London in 2016/17 was 8,108. This compares to 8,096 the previous year. The figure reported in 2010/11 was of 3,975. Chain statistics are here: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/chain-reports.