World Homeless Day 2024 takes place on Thursday 10 October. This annual global event is a platform to celebrate good works, benchmark progress, advocate for improved policies and funding that can help prevent and end homelessness.
We take a look into more about this important event, including when it started and how you can get involved. Also, we focus on some of our own partner charities who look to support the homeless here in the UK.
The history of World Homeless Day
According to the official World Homeless Day website, this event aims to raise awareness about the needs of people who currently experience homelessness and promote work in local communities to alleviate suffering and prevent death.
Homelessness as a topic has been discussed on a global level for a number of years, and it was these discussions that eventually led to World Homeless Day being marked as a specific event on the 10th October 2010.
Since then every continent in the world, apart from Antarctica, has observed it.
Homelessness in the UK
Here in the UK, homelessness is still a major social issue in 2024. New data released in April this year by the Combined Homelessness and Information Network, showed some alarming insights for the period of January to March 2024:
In total, 4,118 people were recorded as rough sleeping in London between January to March 2024, this is an increase of 33% on the same period last year.
2,038 people rough sleeping for the first time, a 37% increase on the same figure this time last year.
511 people deemed to be living on the streets, 36% higher than the same figure this time last year.
1,637 people were intermittently rough sleeping, 29% higher than the same period last year.
Our homelessness charity partners
We work with numerous charities here in the UK who aim to help those who are homeless.
Some of these organisations include:
999 Club, South East London
Faith in Action, South West London
Sutton Night Watch, Sutton
C4WS, Camden
Spear, South West London
The Marylebone Project, London
Islington Council, Islington
Mission South West London, Chelsea and Fulham
Centrepoint, nationwide
St Mungo's, London
How can you support?
There's several ways that you can help to support homeless people, not only on World Homeless Day, but all year round...
Add your name to the Crisis campaign to tell the UK Government to put Britain on the path to a future free of homelessness.
Celebrate your local homeless charity - volunteer some time, share their social media posts and campaigns and spread the word about them.
Write to your local MP to engage them about the issues in your area and ask what they are going to be doing to help.
Take part in a sponsored event and raise money.
Organise your own fundraising event - coffee morning, cake sale, car washing etc.
To find out more about the various ways you can support homeless charities with our clothing gift cards, check out our 'Support Us' section.
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