Homelessness and the cost of living crisis – 5 ways your organisation can help

Homelessness and the cost of living crisis – 5 ways your organisation can help

Last year rough sleeping in England rose for the first time in half a decade, with the cost of living crisis threatening to push more people into homelessness. In 2022 alone an estimated 3,069 people spent the night sleeping rough - an annual increase of 26%, the biggest year-on-year rise since 2015 and 74% higher than 2010 when statistics were first collected.[1]

In a recent blog post we shared how Crisis is committed to supporting people at risk of or experiencing homelessness during the cost of living crisis. We are excited to see the enthusiasm of organisations reaching out to us wanting to offer their support, and together the Partnerships Team want to share some ways you and your colleagues can support those at risk of or experiencing homelessness now:

1.     22% of households facing homelessness in England had at least one person in work.[2] Learn more about the experience of those experiencing homelessness while in work – Watch Water Cooler Chats by Munya Chidakwa.

2.     Review internal policy to support those in your workforce who may be facing stress or anxiety because of their housing. In 2021 four out of 10 employers admitted they would likely seek to terminate an employee’s contract if they were homeless.[3] Click here to learn more about steps your organisation can take to support your employees.

3.     87% of corporate businesses reported that the cost-of-living crisis will feature strongly or moderately in their cross-sector partnerships this year[4]. Demonstrate your organisation’s values and reach out to the Crisis Partnerships team to learn more about our strategic partnerships offering and help us end homelessness. Get in touch, we would love to hear from you corporatepartnerships@crisis.org.uk

4.     If your colleagues want to support people sleeping rough near your workplace, share information about StreetLink, to connect people with local services that can support them.

5.     Instead of a cash gift, you can donate a ‘gift in kind’ to Crisis: this could be anything from vouchers to homeware items, legal services or even brand and marketing advice to support our development as a charity!

 

Your support could allow us to deliver a range of frontline Skylight services to support people experiencing homelessness. These include our engagement and assessment teams, the first port of call for people approaching crisis for the first time, and our lead workers, who work side-by-side with our members, helping them with everything from finding a job to securing and sustaining a place to call home.  

Everyone needs a home in order to live a healthy life and realise their full potential. If you have any ideas you’d like to see on this list or would like to find out about working more closely with Crisis, we’d love to hear from you. Please email - corporatepartnerships@crisis.org.uk

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2022/rough-sleeping-snapshot-in-england-autumn-2022#rough-sleeping-snapshot
[2] https://www.crisis.org.uk/ending-homelessness/homelessness-knowledge-hub/types-of-homelessness/barely-breaking-even-the-experiences-and-impact-of-in-work-homelessness-across-britain/
[3] https://www.crisis.org.uk/about-us/media-centre/four-out-of-10-employers-admit-they-would-likely-seek-to-terminate-an-employee-s-contract-if-they-were-homeless/
[4] https://www.candeadvisory.com/sites/default/files/2022-09/ce-corporate-ngo-partnerships-barometer-report-2022-final.pdf