A campaign launched this winter by the Mayor of London has raised over £85,000 in its first six weeks to help make sure no one needs to sleep rough on the streets of the capital – and the Mayor is urging Londoners to keep donating and help him reach £100,000.
The Mayor launched the ‘No one needs to sleep rough in London’ campaign in December to show Londoners how their help could complement services funded by City Hall to support people sleeping rough in the capital. The campaign promotes StreetLink – a simple app through which Londoners can help direct services towards people sleeping rough -and the London Homeless Charities Group, a coalition of 18 leading homeless charities offering a single donation point.
The fundraising drive has raised £85,000 so far in its first six weeks through 1,727 donations.* The Mayor is urging Londoners to keep the momentum going throughout January and February to pass the £100,000 mark and raise as much money as possible to help those that need it most.
The money will be split equally between the 18 charities and could help thousands of people sleeping rough.
Donations of £100,000 could provide:
- Decent clothes for 10,000 people coming in off the streets
- Things needed to set up home, like pots, pans and bed linen for 4,000 people
- Help for 2,000 people to gain the skills or qualifications they need to sustain a life away from the streets
The campaign shows Londoners how they can direct outreach services towards people found sleeping rough, by using StreetLink – an app which sends an alert to the relevant local council or support service to go out and offer help. Since the campaign launch, over 2,000 referrals to StreetLink have been made in London – double the number from the same time last year.
The Mayor is asking people to donate to the London Charities Homeless Group via a GoFundMe page set up by the coalition. Details can be found here: www.london.gov.uk/help-rough-sleepers.
