Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

25th November 2015

The two charities I always feel need a special mention at Christmas are Shelter and Crisis. Both of these fantastic homeless charities remind me to be grateful to have a roof over my head. Whatever our financial situation might be, a home to call our own – whether rented or owned – is something to give thanks for.

Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

25th November 2015

Lucy Corkhill

By Lucy Corkhill

25th November 2015

Shelter is the housing and homelessness charity, campaigning for safe, affordable housing for all. They estimate that this Christmas 80,000 children will wake up homeless in Britain. Many will spend Christmas morning in an emergency bed and breakfast or hostel, often cramped into one room with their whole family and with limited cooking, laundry and bathroom facilities. Shelter will provide support throughout Christmas to families all over the UK with dedicated volunteers manning their advice lines throughout the festive period, and stepping in to provide help where it is needed.

Somebody in the UK faces losing their home approximately every two minutes. This year, calls to Shelter’s dedicated helpline have soared, as more and more people find themselves struggling to cope with the rising costs of living and stagnating wages. Last year, more than 12,600 people called the helpline in December – a 15% increase from the year before. The number of people who called the Shelter helpline over the whole year reached 174,177 – a 10% rise year-on-year, equivalent to more than 470 people calling the helpline every single day.

Liz Clare, a Shelter helpline adviser for 9 years, says the Christmas period is the most difficult time of year for her and colleagues: “The threat of homelessness is devastating at any time of year, but it seems to get worse around Christmas as the strains of the holidays close in and the weather gets cold.”

Crisis is the national charity for single homeless people. Crisis Skylight are their award winning and accredited education, training and employment centres, offering practical and creative workshops in a supportive and inspiring environment together with formal learning opportunities that lead to qualifications and finding work. The charity reminds us that homelessness is not just the people we see on the streets: for every rough sleeper, there are around 100 people in hostels and 1100 households in overcrowded accommodation.

Every Christmas, Crisis homeless centres in London, Newcastle and Edinburgh offer a hot meal, companionship, warm clothing and specialist advice. When most of us are sitting down for Christmas dinner at home, Crisis provides support to tackle loneliness and isolation, and help people take their first steps out of homelessness – including health checks, podiatry, dental treatment, hair cuts and specialist support. Last year, 3,400 people were served Christmas dinner at Crisis shelters – and their stories of divorce, domestic violence, redundancy and ill health show how homelessness can happen to anyone. The number of people living on the streets has risen by a massive 31% in two years. Just £21.84 reserves one place at Crisis at Christmas.

To find out more about these great charities and how you can make a difference to someone’s life this Christmas, visit the Crisis and Shelter websites.

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