New Play Sheds Light On The Homeless LGBTQI Community

London’s Pleasance Theatre is set to be turned into a sauna next month as a cast telling the stories of LGBTQ homeless people takes to the stage. The play, ‘No Sweat’, created by former Cardboard Citizens assistant director Vicky Moran, explores how prejudice and austerity intersect to create a critical situation for young LGBTQ people – […]

New Funding To Help The Homeless

The funding will see jobcentre staff joining outreach teams on the streets to speak to people sleeping rough, helping them to claim their benefits, find new work, secure stable accommodation and direct them to additional support. Staff will be able to spend more time working with charities and other organisations to help people who are […]

Stigma Causing Early Deaths Of Rough Sleepers

A new report says stigma around homelessness and social exclusion stop rough sleepers accessing appropriate healthcare – leading to early deaths. The research – commissioned by homeless charities Thames Reach and St Mungo’s and the Greater London Authority – has looked into deaths among those who had moved on from rough sleeping, supported by Tenant […]

PSPOs Used To ‘Target Marginalised Groups And Fine People For Being Poor’

Growing numbers of vulnerable homeless people are being fined, given criminal convictions and even imprisoned for begging and rough sleeping. Despite updated Home Office guidance at the start of the year, which instructs councils not to target people for being homeless and sleeping rough, the Guardian has found over 50 local authorities with public space […]

New Beds At Bosco A Big Hit

The installation of beds at Bosco House sit-up service has gone down well with rough sleepers. The Murphy beds, which fold up into cupboards for storage during the day, were installed just before Xmas and have led to an increase in demand by rough sleepers. Despite being contracted by Sefton Council to provide six places […]

Shortage Of Affordable Housing Driving Homelessness In Knowsley

More than 2,200 people turned to Knowsley Council for help avoiding homelessness in 2018/19 – 400 more than the year before, according to the local authority’s draft homelessness strategy. Jon Sparkes, chief executive of homelessness charity Crisis, described the figures as “shocking”, adding that nationally more than a quarter of households that were homeless or at […]

Safe Injection Rooms For The Homeless

Wales could follow Scotland’s lead and make a case for safe injecting rooms to cut the number of drug-related homeless deaths. According to 24Housing, a report released by the Welsh Assembly’s Equality, Local Government, and Communities Committee pitches the potential for the Welsh government to work with Westminster, and non-devolved bodies such as the Police, […]

Bosco Benefits From Clothing Donation

Residents of Bosco are wrapped up nice and warm for the start of the new year after a massive donation of hoodies from local skate park Rampworx. The donation of nearly 100 hooded tops, all brand new, was the brainchild of Rampworx employee, Jay Matthews. Jay said: “We had a lot of old stock that […]

Homeless Charity Boss Under Fire Over Union-Bashing Email Blunder

Unite union has called on the CEO of homelessness charity St Mungo’s, Howard Sinclair, to step down immediately after a misdirected email revealed the charity had worked with a top London PR agency on a strategy to stop people joining the union and ‘erode [its] support’ during this summer’s industrial dispute. The email which was […]

An ‘Angel From Above’ Helps The Homeless Of Liverpool

A nine-year-old boy left a homeless couple in tears when he gave them food and clothes from his trolley. Dylan O’Neil, from Norris Green, is only nine but has been out in the city centre delivering food and supplies to homeless people every week over the festive period. His family have been inundated with donations […]