Sean Whelan
Sean's London To Paris Cycle Challenge
Fundraising for The Society of St James
Story
About Society of St James
SSJ is a Southampton-based homelessness charity, providing a range of supported living services in Southampton, Portsmouth and across Hampshire. We provide a wide range of support to people from all walks of life experiencing homelessness, problematic alcohol or substance use and mental health problems. .
What is homelessness?
Being homeless is the very worst situation anyone can find themselves in. It is frightening and degrading, it causes significant harm to a person’s physical and mental health, it leaves people open to exploitation and abuse, but above all, homelessness is simply wrong. It is shocking that at the moment in the UK thousands of people are without a permanent, safe home. Many people are living in temporary accommodation or overcrowded and unsuitable housing; others are sofa surfing with friends and family; and worst of all, hundreds of people are sleeping on the streets in cities all around the country.
How many people are homeless?
It is impossible to accurately count the number of people who are homeless, as along with the visible street homeless people we see in our towns and cities, there are thousands of people who can be described as the ‘hidden homeless’ – people who are not on the streets but have no actual home. The number of people finding themselves in this situation is increasing every day and services are struggling to cope with the demand.
Early Years
In 1972, the Society of St James was a group of volunteers from a collection of churches who opened up a church hall to accommodate 11 homeless men. Many of the men we worked with in those early days were struggling with heavy drinking and the team realised very quickly that offering shelter was just the first step in helping people get back on their feet.
Today
Although our organisation and the services we provide has changed in the last 45 years, our ethos remains the same. We are still responsive to the ever-changing challenges facing vulnerable people; we still believe that people can change their lives for the better with the right help, and we still believe that everyone deserves not just a second or third chance, but as many as it takes to enable them to change their lives for the better.
I have noticed like I'm sure you have in your city town or wherever you live or visit the Plight of the Homeless in our areas This charity provide support and help in all sorts of different ways to assist these people to get their lives back on track and help them in many ways.
Thank you for visiting my page and thank you as always for your incredible support
Sean G Whelan