AutoProtect supporting Streets2Homes to help address homelessness in Harlow.
The Streets2Homes charity provides a day centre which seeks to reach out to and help homeless people. It provides a safe and friendly environment to assist people without a permanent home in a range of ways including finding accommodation. In addition, linking with a wide range of agencies and organisations, Streets2Homes day centre provides a place to access housing advice, training sessions, employment advice, health services, washing facilities, food, clothing, general guidance and crucial social contact for people who are often struggling.
“Homelessness is a growing problem across the UK. While there are many reasons for this situation and while there is no quick fix, a number of charities and agencies are working tiressely to address the issue and support those affected. Their work is challenging and commonly relies upon support from the wider Harlow community; at AutoProtect, we are extremely proud to support one of those charities, Streets2Homes in our local Harlow community.”
Wil Beaumont, CEO AutoProtect.
Analysis published in November 2018 by Shelter revealed that 320,000 people were recorded as homeless in England and that this number was rising monthly.
The research also identified the scale of the problem by local authority. In the Top 50, Harlow was identified as the 31st ranked local authority for homelessness. The glimmer for optimism is that thanks to the combined efforts of numerous bodies the level of homelessness in Harlow is now finally falling.
Kerrie Eastman, Chief Executive, Streets2Homes comments:
“For the first time in 10 years we are able to announce a decrease in the number of rough sleepers in Harlow. We hope to see this trend continue with the introduction of new projects in 2019 including an accommodation project which will be up and running by April 2019 that will provide temporary accommodation for up to nine people so they do not have to sleep rough. We could not do this without the continued support of local businesses, the community and grant funding.”
AutoProtect’s fund raising activities during 2018 were quite varied. Really well received by S2H clients were ‘Fry Up Fridays’, providing hot breakfast once a month from the S2H kitchens. Other events included Easter egg and Christmas Raffles; a Diwali celebratory food sale and the slightly off the wall ‘donate your pants’ day, clean underwear is just one of the many items that are always in demand by S2H. In total, AutoProtect collected close to £9,000 during 2018 which enabled S2H to purchase a new catering oven. We are hoping to do even better in 2019.
Wil concludes;
“At AutoProtect, we are delighted to continue to support the people who work within Streets2Homes and their efforts to provide a service to a section of our community who need help and support and who, but for the day centre and its services, might feel even more marginalised from society than they already do. When undertaking a recent Friday fry up, I was really humbled by the efforts of so many local volunteers.”