Thanks for clicking and joining me for Sponsor a Volunteer for Crisis @ Christmas 2023!

Can you believe it, it’s December again and I am preparing to volunteer for Crisis @ Christmas once more! 😊

This Christmas thousands of people experiencing homelessness will need support. Nearly a quarter of a million households across England are now experiencing the worst forms of homelessness. That includes rough sleeping, sofa surfing and staying in unsuitable temporary accommodation like B&Bs. Rough sleeping alone has increased in England by 26% in the last year. Your donations to the Crisis at Christmas charity appeal make this support possible.

This is my 13th year for volunteering at Crisis At Christmas, but as I am sure you have seen for yourself, it is still a very sad situation with more people than ever being homeless in some way. This year and going into 2024 with the continued cost of living crisis, as well as the increase in homelessness, I am sure you will agree, that it is still needed and now more than ever. I always wanted to volunteer for a homeless charity, as homelessness has always been something I felt strongly to try and help to do something and learn about. Ever since I started volunteering in 2011, I have found it really a rewarding and a positive thing to do at the festive time.

If you want to lean more what I and hundreds of fellow volunteers with Crisis will be doing this year – read on.....

I will again be doing the NEW full day centre all day shifts (9.00 am- 6.00pm) this year, from the 23rd December (centre Set up day) and also when the centre is open for Guests from the 24th December - 29th December ( Close down day), at a day centre in South London. I will be doing 7 shifts / days in total.

This year we will be able to offer full services in our three London day centres, like we did before the Pandemic. We will also be operating Crisis Three Rough sleepers Hotels, like last year.

Here is an example of what we will be offering this year:

You can help us give as many people as we can a Christmas to remember

Nobody should be without a home this winter. Help give someone who’s homeless access to:

• Hot meals and Christmas lunch

• Help with a place to stay, including hotel accommodation

• A long-term personal case worker

• Christmas activities of arts and crafts, games and quizzes

• Advice on housing, employment, welfare and benefits

• Companionship from volunteers

• Support with mental and physical health

• Year-round support, including training and education

• The chance to leave homelessness behind for good.

Our three hotels will operate as last year, for over 500+ rough sleepers, giving them accommodation and one to one targeted support from the 20th December to the 5th January. In Addition, Crisis has again managed to raise additional funds (with your help), to keep the largest Hotel open for additional time for the most the vulnerable until the middle of January 2024. All these services will be done in conjunction with all year round established rough sleeping organisations, such as: St Mungoes, local councils, Support services and hostels etc.

You can check out to see the incredible impact the support of people just like you, had over last Christmas 2022- see below:

With the help of many generous supporters and over 3,316 dedicated volunteers, we provided hotel accommodation, hub services, food and wellbeing packs for 3,483 people who were experiencing homelessness last Christmas. At multiple locations across the UK, our volunteers worked together to provide companionship, support and a wide range of vital services.

3,483 people offered healthcare, accommodation, food and company

1,759 people given a wellbeing pack including information and advice, toiletries and clothing

3,316 volunteers

450 people accommodated in hotels

Useful links:

• You can see what else Crisis do here: https://www.crisis.org.uk/

• The monies raised at Crisis At Christmas play a massive part in the fundraising, in the work they do all year round, not just at Christmas, so your donations count!

The Crisis long term plan and aim as we all would want, is to try and end homelessness for good and to assist the current homelessness out of the never-ending spiral of being homeless in the first place. If you would like more information on what I do at Crisis at Christmas and what Crisis does all year round and it’s aims and goals to help end homelessness, please read below:

I have seen it for myself what your donations, Crisis and the volunteers achieve for all our guests, who really do appreciate and value everything we offer them. You can read / watch short videos of some of their and the volunteers stories (and the services and stats over the festive period) we offer, here on the Crisis website: https://www.crisis.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer/volunteer-for-crisis-at-christmas/

You can read more on what Crisis does all year round here https://www.crisis.org.uk/ from its Skylight centres around the UK supporting and advising the homeless and enabling many to get out of homelessness for good; to political lobbying to influence changes in housing legislation in many areas. An example, of all year round support and work that Crisis do at their Skylight centres across the UK.

So whatever you can spare this year, I, Crisis and (more importantly as always), the homeless people of London and across the UK will be enormously grateful.

Please feel free to spread this link to others- as you know I am not on Face book / Twitter - yes I am still a dinosaur- sorry!

Once again, many thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you have a really wonderful festive time and let us all hope we find a way out these difficult times for so many in 2024. I think it has all made us realise how lucky many of us are and take many things for granted and there are many people less fortunate than many of us.

Take care and look after yourself and others and Happy Festive and I wish you all the very best for 2024.

Steve

Steve Tandy