Thank you for being part of the Crisis community. Your support ensures people can find safe, decent and affordable homes as quickly as possible. You'll find here more about Crisis’ work and how your gifts are making a difference in ending homelessness for good.
- Élise
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Your generosity ensures people can find safe, decent and affordable homes as quickly as possible.
“Crisis not only helped me with accommodation. They helped me find my way back to the right place where I really belong.” Eva, former Crisis member
At 63 years old, Eva was made homeless when her husband forced her from their property. Originally from Greece, she had no family to turn to. Although she had settled status in the UK, she needed a new passport to complete the process. Without it, landlords would not engage with her. And when she turned to the local authority for help, they said she was not a priority.
For four months, Eva stayed on a friend’s sofa. But when she had to leave, she was forced to rough sleep for several nights.
“For the three days I lived on the road, I never closed my eyes because I didn’t know what was going to happen.” Eva
Thankfully, Eva spoke to a person working in a Crisis charity shop who advised her to contact the Crisis centre in London. And that’s when your generous support sprang into action.
“Now, after 27 years in the UK, I have my first property. Crisis paid the deposit, one month rent in advance. They bought me a mattress, a bed sheet, pillows.” Eva
Every year since the 1960s, we run our well-known Crisis at Christmas services. We offer warmth, accommodation, healthcare, food and specialist advice to people who urgently need our support.
These vital Christmas services can be the first step that starts someone’s journey to a life beyond homelessness. Thanks to donations from kind people like you we can help people experiencing homelessness into employment, housing and to improve their wellbeing, life skills and confidence. It’s an approach that works. Most people who stay in our hotels at Christmas and engage with us do not return to the streets.
In 2024, we worked with over 5,500 people facing homelessness through our day centres and hotels in London, and Crisis Skylight centres across Britain.
Read more about Crisis at Christmas
Homelessness is not inevitable. With collective action and political will, we can end it once and for all. We campaign for the political changes needed to end homelessness for good.
We use research and evidence to campaign for policy change in England, Scotland and Wales on a range of issues including benefits and employment, health and wellbeing, housing, law and rights, and rough sleeping.
Your support is helping get closer to ending homelessness.
Since 1824, the Vagrancy Act has made it a crime just to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. People sleeping rough could face police action and a fine of up to £1,000.
In February 2022, after thousands of Crisis supporters contacted their MP, emailed Government ministers, and shared the campaign online, MPs voted to make repeal a matter of law.
But the Act was never fully repealed, meaning the law was technically still in force. So, we kept fighting for what is right.
In Summer 2025, the UK Government committed to fully repealing the Act in 2026. When that happens, sleeping rough will no longer be a crime in England and Wales – ending more than 200 years of the criminalisation of homelessness.
Ahead of the 2024 general election, thousands of you joined together to call on all the main UK political parties to make history and commit to a national mission to end homelessness.
More than 10,000 of you, alongside people with lived experience and artists, musicians and actors, signed our open letter to the main party leaders. Thousands more of you emailed your MPs and MP candidates.
You helped us share the reality of homelessness in Britain today. And we took our positive message that a future free from homelessness is possible direct to MPs.
As a result of our campaigning, the Labour party promised in its manifesto to produce a strategy to get Britain ‘back on track to ending homelessness’.
This is the first time we’ve had a UK Government elected on such a promise – and we’ll make sure they deliver.
Exempt accommodation is a form of shared housing for people with support needs.
Some rogue landlords are exploiting the system for profit while leaving people in unsafe, dangerous shared housing with little to no support.
We supported a Bill in Parliament that will bring in new laws to root out rogue landlords and protect people living in exempt accommodation.
After months of pressure from Crisis supporters, the Bill passed in Parliament and received Royal Assent in June 2023 - a huge campaign win!
This will transform the lives of thousands of people facing homelessness in England.
Find out more about our Regulate the Rogues campaign.
We worked with the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ending Homelessness on A Safe Home, a campaign calling for the Domestic Abuse Bill to ensure people fleeing domestic abuse in England are able to go to their council and be offered a safe, permanent home.
Success: In May 2020, the UK Government announced that it will amend the Domestic Abuse Bill so that anyone made homeless in England as a result of domestic abuse will have a legal right to housing.
The Domestic Abuse Bill received royal assent in April 2021, and the law change has now come into force.
A safe, stable home is the foundation for a healthy life. But right now, living costs and unaffordable rents are forcing more of us into homelessness. And when people seek support, they’re too often being let down by services that should be there to protect them. This isn’t right – and it doesn’t have to be this way.
This is our chance to change things. The UK Government has promised to get us back on track to ending homelessness, and is working on a plan to do this. A plan that’s serious about ending homelessness must:
By doing this, we can create a stronger society, where all of us have the foundation of a home.
We have a once in a generation opportunity to make lasting change in our country. So, we’re urging government to step up and deliver a future free from homelessness for us all.
The Venture Studio from Crisis is here to invest in, build and scale ventures that accelerate the end of homelessness.
Find out more about Changing Lives.
When Joan shared her passion for bridalwear with her Crisis coach Ed, she took the first step to a new career. With Ed’s encouragement, she applied for a Crisis Changing Lives grant, which helped her establish her dream of opening a bridal shop.
“The grant does what is says. It changes lives.”
Our new 10-year strategy (launched at the end of July 2024) is focussed on thinking bigger to overcome barriers to progress, doing things differently to inspire success and backing others who are also determined to end homelessness. We are focussed on delivering long term solutions as quickly as possible.
Our vision
In ten years, the number of people experiencing homelessness will be going down. This doesn’t mean no one will ever lose their home again. But there will be better ways to prevent it – and fast and practical solutions when it happens.
We’ll make this happen by:
Our impact
Each year we publish an impact report highlighting key areas of our work and how we improve the lives of homeless people. You can also download our annual accounts reports from this page.
If you have questions about our work, your donations or the way we communicate with you, do not hesitate to contact Élise Lindron, who will be happy to help with any questions you have.
