Homelessness is a growing concern for many in the South East. This is an issue that takes many forms, it can range from families worrying that they are going to become homeless to finding someone living under a bus shelter or an awning. Begging for money or food just to survive is not something we would wish on anyone. 

We are sat here with a privilege. A roof over our heads and access to food and water. These things we may find an essential, normal part of our every day but to the homeless, this isn’t simple. Imagine no warmth, no food, no drink, no shower, not even shelter from the wind or rain. 

Did you know that 78,930 households were in temporary accommodation in 2017? 60,520 of these households included dependent children and/ or pregnant women with 120,510 children expected to be within these families.

In addition to this, during the Covid- 19 outbreak, more people were facing homelessness with 13% of all households at risk of being homeless or already homeless according to the council. This has increased by 6% a year and a total of 27% since 2019. Since the pandemic, a total of 222,360 households have been tipped into homelessness, nationwide.

Homelessness affects people’s lives because of a cycle of issues stemming from not having a fixed address. This makes it near impossible for homeless people to find work, find accommodation, sign up for a GP, access healthcare or government services, and more.

Now in 2022, we are faced with a cost of living crisis threatening even more homelessness alongside the possibility of those on minimum or low-wage roles not even being able to afford essentials such as food, water, heat, or shelter.

So many of these issues can be addressed by businesses that are willing to help. We are a business that is willing to help. We are taking action and have decided to help fight homelessness across our local community, Kent.

We are working with a range of charities and businesses to help homeless people this Christmas. We will be establishing a donation point in our offices to collect food, drink, and Christmas Presents. These will then be shared with the charities to help those less fortunate this winter.

For more information, please call us on freephone 0808 168 1474 and we can talk with you about how you can help this Christmas.