Crisis

Rosie is this week's supporter star!⭐ This week's supporter star is Rosie, 8, who recently raised over £500 for Crisis by hosting a bake sale for her neighbours. She tells us more. "I think it is sad that some people don’t have a home and I want to help. Mum said Crisis want to end homelessness too so I want to raise £2000 this year to help give people somewhere to live. "I asked Mum if I could sell cakes on our driveway and we put leaflets through people’s doors to ask them to come. Some people couldn’t come but put money in envelopes through our door. Lots of people did come and really enjoyed the cakes. "We raised £560 and still had cakes left for tea! I want to do a ‘Goalkeeperthon’ in the autumn and lots more sponsored stuff next year to hit my target of £2000." Join us in saying a special thank you to Rosie by leaving a comment below 👇 If you would like to end homelessness, why not fundraise like Rosie? Visit our website to find out more: https://bit.ly/46RC4Wv

Helping people regain their confidence and mental well-being through art and self-expression is an important part of the support we offer. Agata is a ceramic artist and one of the art tutors at our centre in Croydon. She recently won a GLA commission to create three trophies to be awarded to the London Boroughs of Culture for 2025-27. Since the awards were about community Agata decided to get the local Crisis community involved and our members created the flowers on the trophies in their art classes. The London Borough of Culture followed their progress in this video: https://lnkd.in/e3rZBday

We are #hiring! Join our team in Birmingham as a Housing Procurement Officer. You will deliver an outstanding property procurement service across the private and social rented sector. It’s a role requiring commercial acumen and creativity as you partner with both Social and Private landlords and our Members. You will work collaboratively with partners, coaches and staff across the organisation to ensure tenants receive the support they need to sustain their homes and landlord relationships are nurtured. ✨ £35,618 per annum ✨ Permanent ✨ Full time - 35 hours per week Apply today or share this post with your network: https://lnkd.in/giViepsa #wearehiring #endinghomelessness #birminghamjobs

Many people don’t know that homelessness isn’t just rough sleeping – it also includes experiences of housing insecurity. But what is housing insecurity? Watch to learn more.

“I think the business we’re all in is to be hopeful, to be positive, and have solutions" - our Chief Executive Matt Downie recently sat down with Inside Housing to discuss the ongoing homelessness crisis, and why the new government might finally be set to turn things around. https://lnkd.in/eTtGWd3K

Zahra was forced into homelessness when her marriage broke down. With her young children, she had no option but to stay in a hotel that was infested with cockroaches and bedbugs for 6 months until some suitable affordable housing became available. Based on her experience, she makes some suggestions the new government should consider that would make a difference to families like hers. “To end homelessness, the government needs to invest in people, in homes. Trying to regenerate homes that are already in existence. It’s not always about building, it’s about making good with what is already there and repurposing homes as well as repurposing buildings. “The system needs to make sure people are supported thinking about vulnerable people, the elderly, people with children, disabled people.”

Sustainable shopping news! Our Peckham and Elephant & Castle charity shops are running instore trials to reduce clothing waste as part of the 'Automatic sorting for circularity in textiles' (ACT) project, led by the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT Association). The project focuses on raising awareness of how we can reduce the amount of textiles entering general household waste in preparation for automated sorting. The trials run until September and we’ll be working with our community to encourage pre-sorting of textile donations into re-wearable and non re-wearable textiles. We’re hoping this trial will help change mindsets about how we sort textiles for recycling through community participation. Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/eTkVxSFn

Rebuilding our members' confidence and mental well-being is an important part of the work we do with them. Homelessness can have a devastating effect on mental health as well as a person's sense of self-worth. Art is great way to help people regain their confidence through self-expression and our team in Croydon are always looking for new art forms for our members to explore. During their ceramics classes recently, members have been working on a new mindful clay technique called Kurinuki. This is a Japanese technique which doesn't use a pottery wheel. It starts with a solid block of clay which is hollowed out it out to create an interior. It is a really expressive carving technique that enables a very individual creative approach and response to the clay. Here are a few pictures from the first session!

Homelessness can have a catastrophic effect on people's physical health. People experiencing homelessness are six times more likely to have heart disease, and are more likely to die at a younger age than people with secure housing. In fact, health inequalities are so stark that the mean age at death is just 45.4 years for men and 43.2 years for women experiencing homelessness, respectively. So we're very glad to have partnered with Community Heartbeat Trust who will be installing defibrillators at our centres around the country. https://lnkd.in/g5z3JZNE

Mitzi recently started working at Crisis. Last month she shared the story of an encounter she'd had on her way to her interview here. "Don't judge a book by its cover" may seem a worn-out sentiment to some but it's still valid. Those of us who are facing homelessness can appear in all shapes and forms. We all draw confidence from our appearence and need our support networks. So don't dismiss someone experiencing homelessness, for example because "they look too smart" or have a phone. That's their armour against the world and a vital tool to get their life back on track.