Crisis

Colleagues at Cast Consultancy are this week's Supporter Stars⭐

Cast Consultancy recently hosted a 5-a-side football tournament for their team members, clients, consultants and contractors and together they raised £4,000 for Crisis so far with more donations still expected to come in! Anusha Vasan, Associate Director, tells us more.

"Last month, for the second time, we hosted a charity football tournament in support of Crisis.

"As part of the construction industry, we recognise homelessness as a major issue affecting our sector. We are proud to have developed a strategic partnership with Crisis to help end homelessness. This is one aspect of our extra-curricular activity, alongside our support for environmental charities, and the individual efforts of our team members for the causes they are committed to supporting themselves.

"The tournament forms part of our “Cast Contribution” programme, which was set up to achieve our broader aim of doing business in the right way, ensuring that our responsibilities to our people, clients, communities and the environment inform our decision making.

"The day was a huge success in bringing together the Cast team with our clients, fellow consultants, and contractors, creating an opportunity to raise money while having fun and building relationships."

Join us in saying a huge thank you to everyone who took part in the tournament and raised so much to help end homelessness for good.👏

In London alone, over 4,000 people are forced to sleep on the streets. Yesterday the Government announced its plans to build more social homes but we urgently Westminster to establish a cross-government unit to that will co-ordinate efforts between national departs and local councils. https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/rough-sleeping-increases-by-almost-30-in-london-crisis-responds/

While many people are in airconditioned homes or offices right now, not all of us are so protected. Any extreme weather, hot or cold, puts people on the street at risk. Here are some ways you can help.

If you're contacting Street Link, get the person's permission to do so on their behalf. And remember that if the person appears to be suffering from heatstroke or any other medical emergency, just call 999.

After going through a bad relationship, Joan hit rock bottom and had no option but to sleep on an airport bench. With the help of Crisis, she turned her life around. This year, Joan visited the Houses of Parliament where she addressed MPs to share her story and inspire them to help end homelessness for good. She shares her experience.

“If I was asked to describe my evening in Parliament, the first word that comes to mind is, ‘surreal’. I felt a sense of euphoria, an indescribable feeling of immense happiness and achievement. To think that I would have the honour to talk about my experience to inspire MPs to join Crisis, is simply, once again, surreal.

“When one goes through trials and tribulations, the last thing on your mind would be that one day, you would have an opportunity to address distinguished members of society who can ultimately help to make a change to this spiralling issue of homelessness. It doesn’t matter if you are homeless or not, we are all affected. You walk down the road, go to a restaurant, travel to work, take the train, go to an event, and homelessness will stare you in the face, literally.

“I realised that night that people respect a real-life story. They respect when they can physically see and touch someone who has overcome hardship, it allows them to believe in the cause, and it inspires them to mentally as well as physically spring into action.

“I loved the evening, it was rewarding and just a moment in my life that I will never forget. Having never been to Parliament before, going as a guest was the ultimate experience. Do I think I made a change? Maybe. What I do know is this, until we put ourselves out there, nothing will ever change. Exposure does influence.”

Last Saturday a whole Crisis gang of members, volunteers, staff, friends and family stepped out to lead the Newcastle Pride parade. We were very grateful for the honour and also for the opportunity to show the LGBTQ+ community that Crisis is a safe space and there to help everyone regardless of gender, religion, sexuality or ethnicity.

Research from Stonewall shows that almost one in five LGBTQ+ people have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives. Rates are even higher amongst trans people, with 25% having experienced homelessness at some point.

All of us have the right to a safe and decent home. That’s why it’s vital that our support systems work for and include everyone in society.

"I would like people to know that it will get better.”

After Zahra's marriage broke down, she was placed into a hotel with her children as part of the local authority's homelessness procedure. The hotel was infested with bedbugs and cockroaches. With the help of Crisis, Zahra and her family were able to leave homelessness behind for good. Zahra shares her story.

"I was told going into the hotel is what happens when you go through the homeless procedure. On the first day, we noticed a cockroach and they moved us. Then a couple of days later we noticed another one. I started to realise it's not just one room, it’s the whole hotel.

"One of the rooms we went into had bedbugs. I had an allergic reaction and my whole body broke out in massive red blotches.

"My daughter got bit on her face and that really upset me because she had to go to school. She had other bites on her and I just felt terrible.

"They started to affect me how I never thought a bug would. I started to itch. My eyes started playing tricks on me. It made me feel dirty. And it really affected my daughter too. Its not nice to live in that environment.

"We didn't get the support we needed from the council or the hotel manager. After six months at the hotel, I contacted Crisis. I felt a little bit lost and extremely frustrated at these constant reoccurring problems.

"Sophie my lead worker and she was lovely. She sent quite a few emails to the temporary housing officer, and she basically worked like an advocate. And I felt I had a support network.

“I’ve just moved into rented accommodation so my main focus right now is just getting myself a little bit organised. It's a very nice home. I've been unpacking, organising the children’s room. I’m also doing a lot of cleaning!

“The support that Crisis offers is very good. I love the fact that it’s holistic so it’s not just saying, “We’re going to help you with your housing,” they also support you with education, wellbeing and your health."

Andrew is this week's supporter star after hosting a comedy gig to raise money in memory of his friend, Andy Smart⭐

This week, we say thank you to one of our wonderful fundraisers, Andrew Wilson. Andrew has raised £1,000 in memory of his friend Andy Smart, a comedian and long-term supporter of Crisis who sadly passed away last year.

In June, Andrew celebrated Andy’s life by hosting a comedy tribute show at London’s Duchess Theatre, bringing together comedians and improv artists for an evening of laughter and remembrance. This is a fitting tribute to Andy who, during his almost twenty years as a Christmas volunteer, brought empathy, care and infectious humour to guests and volunteers alike.

By organising the evening, Andrew honoured Andy’s values and continued his incredible support and commitment to Crisis over the years, building a lasting impact in his name. We asked Andrew about his experience of fundraising in memory of Andy, and he told us:

“Andy is the reason I began volunteering for Crisis. He never persuaded me but spoke so passionately and enthusiastically about the work Crisis did at Christmas that I was compelled to volunteer myself.

"Andy spent time on the streets as a young man and never forgot the small acts of kindness that others showed him during that period. It was his generosity of spirit that made him such a popular volunteer with guests.

"I would like to thank his fellow Comedy Store Players and friends on the comedy circuit who gave their time and talent to celebrate his life and raise money for his favourite charity.”

Please join us in saying a huge thank you to Andrew and everyone who took part in the show by leaving a message in the comments below.👇

Photo credit: Steve Best

Over half a million renting households have been homeless in recent years.

The new govt. can now build on the announcements in the and see that these figures come down, quickly.

It can start that by creating a Unit for Ending Homelessness.

https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/more-than-half-a-million-renting-households-have-experienced-homelessness-crisis-responds/

Now that the Government has the keys to their new home and is settling in, here’s what they can do to get us on track to ending homelessness.

We've put together some moving-in essentials for their first 100 days:

🏠 1. Install a Unit for Ending Homelessness
To get all different government departments working together to end homelessness

🏘️ 2. Unpack the essentials for ending homelessness with homes
The govt can lay out a clear plan for boosting social housing, introduce renting reform laws and give councils the funding they need to support people who are homeless.

🚫 3. Bin the Vagrancy Act
The new government can end the criminalisation of homelessness by immediately scrapping the Vagrancy Act. After 200 years on the statute books, it’s time to finally get rid of this outdated law.

These steps will set us on the path to ending homelessness for good.
https://bit.ly/3Lilaql

As we all get ready for a sporty weekend, here's some Feelgood Friday news:

We're always in awe of how quickly young people grasp the inherent injustice of homelessness and want to do something about it.

Two amazing young people Zedekiah and Isaiah, recently took part in Fulham FC Official Foundation's Social Action Challenge. To complete the challenge, they wanted to make an impact in their local community by donating essential items to local people experiencing homelessness.

After researching suitable charities, they purchased useful clothing as t-shirts and hoodies. Last month they delivered the items to our Skylight centre in Croydon where Leigh was on hand to show them around the centre and explain more about our work.

It's reassuring to know that the future lies in the hands of compassionate people like Zedekiah and Isaiah. A huge thanks to them both as well as to Fulham FC Foundation for making this happen. Now let's make sure that homelessness is not something they have to solve when they grow up!

Kicks Supporting Crisis Through Social Action Fulham FC Foundation’s Premier League Kicks programme engages thousands of young people in our community through football each season, providing opportunities for workshops, qualifications, mentoring and social action along the way.

Thank you for fighting for a future free from homelessness! ❤️🏠

We’ve achieved a phenomenal amount together through campaigning over the last year.
✊🏼 We faced down the Criminal Justice Bill.
✔️ You helped secure key manifesto promises on ending homelessness.
📝 You’ve put ending homelessness on the agenda for our new MPs.
📣 You’ve amplified the voices of people experiencing homelessness.
🙌🏼 And for the first time, we have a UK Government elected on the promise of ending all forms of homelessness – this is HUGE.

We could not have done any of this without you. We hope this fills you with hope about the great things we can achieve if we work together.

Together, let’s keep fighting to build a future free from homelessness.

"There is so much satisfaction in making someone's day a little bit easier"

Gaynor became a volunteer on Reception at our Brent Skylight after many years of getting involved in Crisis at Christmas. She tells us more about what it's like to volunteer at Crisis.

"After retiring in June, I was looking to do more volunteering having spent many years getting involved with Crisis at Christmas. I knew that I enjoyed spending my time working alongside like-minded others, helping people access vital resources and being that smiling face for those that need help.

"I joined the Welcome and Reception team in April and have thoroughly enjoyed every day spent at the Brent Skylight so far. Although there are moments that are undeniably hard and emotional there is also a lot of fun and my team have been a great support and patient with me as I navigate my new tasks. From maintaining a clean and welcoming space to coordinating guests with the variety of resources available to them, there is such satisfaction from being able to make someone else’s day that little bit easier.

"The centre is engaging and creative as it aims to bring everyone together. I recently had the opportunity to attend an Iftar meal during Ramadan where there was food and music provided for all.

"I’m already looking forward to many more days and events working with Crisis and hope to contribute to the admirable work and purpose of this amazing charity."

If you'd like to volunteer with Crisis, visit our website to find out more and sign up: https://bit.ly/3sr6WLF

"Thanks to Crisis, I am looking forward to a new life where I feel more settled."

Thanks to you, our Crisis supporters, Caroline was able to leave behind an abusive relationship and find affordable accommodation after her landlord served her with an eviction notice.

She says, "When I came to Crisis, I was so impressed. They've really helped me so much. They helped me sort out a few problems with my bills in my current property and other practical things that I was having trouble with.

“Crisis pointed me in the direction of social landlords and helped me with the housing application and supported me with the types of property that I could apply for because I have epilepsy.

"Thanks to Crisis, we've managed to find a social housing property through one of the social landlords. My daughter and I are going to be moving into a two-bedroom house, which is close to my parents' house. We can start a new life, out of the private rented sector and into social housing which is a bit more secure and better than where we are now.

"I am proud of standing on my own two feet, leaving an unhealthy relationship and facing the world on my own with my daughter. It's been a complete change of lifestyle."

You can read Caroline's story in full on our website: https://bit.ly/4cJEbO8

Thank you to all of our volunteers, fundraisers, campaigners and donors for helping people like Caroline leave homelessness behind for good.

Colleagues at Lloyds Banking Group are this week's supporter stars!⭐

Since April 2023, colleagues at Lloyds Banking Group have supported our partnership to help end homelessness for good – raising over £1.7m and volunteering over 5,000 hours of their time at our shops, Crisis at Christmas hotels and warehouse.

Jenn works at Lloyds Banking Group and challenged herself to walk the Official West Highland Way in 5 days - a 96 mile trail through some of Scotland's most beautiful landscapes. She shares her story.

"I chose to walk the West Highland Way because I wanted to challenge myself both physically and mentally. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but I really wanted to see what I was made of.

"This is one of the hardest challenges I have ever taken part in. After day 1 I had the most excruciating blisters and at that point, I was only 27.5 miles into the journey. Some of it was really difficult. We found it difficult to get up and get moving every morning knowing we had 25 miles of walking ahead of us.

"That doesn't mean there wasn't some highs! The scenery was absolutely beautiful, we had amazing weather, my partner got me through so much of it - we had a great laugh!

"I would definitely recommend it! I'd say, take your time, do it over more than 5 days and enjoy the scenery that Scotland's got to offer.

"I decided to support Crisis, a charity dedicated to ending homelessness. Everyone deserves somewhere safe to live and with every step of my journey, I was raising awareness and funds to support those in need.

"I managed to raise £1,000 for Crisis, and along with Lloyds Banking Group matching this to £500, it brought my total to £1500."

Thank you so much to Jenn and everyone at Lloyds Banking Group for your support! Together, we'll end homelessness.⭐

A future free from homelessness is possible. Let’s make sure the next Government knows that we want them to deliver it.

3 days left until polling day. Use our tool to look up your local candidates and tell them that you want them to play their part in a future free from homelessness: https://bit.ly/4eyfKoy

Glastonbury is in for a future free from homelessness, are you?

Did you know that the number of people facing homelessness in Britain (over 250,000) is bigger than the number of people (210,000) attending this weekend? Just let that sink in...

It's time to demand change. The next UK government must make ending homelessness a society-wide mission for the next decade.

Join us in building a future free from homelessness. Email your MP hopefuls and ask them – how will they work to end homelessness if elected? https://bit.ly/4eyfKoy

📢 URGENT: With less than a week before the election, there’s still time to make your voice count 📢

Email your local candidates and ask them: if elected, how will they work to end homelessness?

Let’s make this the one where we decide to end homelessness for good.

Email your candidates now: https://bit.ly/4eyfKoy

New figures released today show that nearly 8,000 people were forced to sleep rough in London for the first time last year, an increase of 25% from the previous year.

These unacceptable figures highlight how rising rents, a scarcity of genuinely affordable housing and struggling statutory services are forcing more people into rough sleeping and homelessness. No one should be forced to spend nights on the streets fearing for their safety – all of us should have a safe and stable home.

We desperately need the next government to prioritise the solutions we know will end homelessness - such as building more social homes, to help more of us have the safe, secure and affordable homes we need.

With the fast approaching, we need to show all political parties that to win our votes means a commitment to building a future free from homelessness. Now is the time to .

So, make your voice count and email your MP candidates: how will you end homelessness if elected? https://bit.ly/4eyfKoy

We all need a safe, decent, affordable home. So, let’s get homelessness on the agenda this election ❗

Use our simple tool to find out how many people are experiencing homelessness in your area and email your MP hopefuls. Ask them – how will they work to end homelessness, if elected?

Take action now: https://bit.ly/4eyfKoy

Nice out innit?🌞

Most of us appreciate a warm spell as long as there's a bit of a/c but, if you're trapped on the street, hot weather can be a major risk. Just staying safely hydrated and out of the sun is a challenge.

So we've put together some ways you can help. Please like 'n share to help raise as much awareness as possible.

Visit the StreetLink website: https://bit.ly/4cs0fwE
Visit the Shelter Scotland website: https://bit.ly/45CyKhm

[Remember to ask the person's permission before contacting StreetLink on their behalf]

WAKE UP CALL: Demand for our services across Britain has increased by 25% in the last year ❗

Rising living costs, soaring rents and lack of affordable homes are making it harder for us to have the safe and secure homes we all need.

This must change. The next UK Government must prioritise the solutions we know will end homelessness, like building more social homes.

Help us show all political parties that there’s widespread support for lasting solutions to homelessness.

Email your MP candidates and ask them: how will they work to end homelessness? Take action now: https://bit.ly/4eyfKoy

Here are 3 questions to ask your local candidates about homelessness when they come knocking on your door to try to win your vote 📝

This is our time to show all parties that winning our votes means a commitment to ending all forms of homelessness.

If you’d like to learn more about how to talk about homelessness with election candidates, check out our guide: https://bit.ly/3KTg2Zu

We all need a safe, decent and affordable home - it’s the foundation for everything in our lives. But this is out of reach for too many of us.

Make your voice heard and ask your MP hopefuls: if elected, how will you end homelessness?

Email your candidates now: https://bit.ly/4eyfKoy

⚽ We're on the count-down to the Euros! First game is tomorrow!
Football is a great way to bring people together, raise money and help end homelessness. Our website has some fun ideas including everything you need for a sweepstake! There's still time to organise one for the office!

Football fundraising | Crisis | Together we will end homelessness Our Crisis fundraising team are here to answer any queries you might have about events, or tips for fundraising for homelessness charities.

The Labour Party manifesto pledges a cross-govt strategy to , ending no-fault evictions & the biggest increase in affordable & social housing in a generation. This will bring hope for thousands forced to live without a safe, secure home https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/crisis-responds-to-the-labour-party-manifesto/