Rough Sleeping In and Around Churches: Compassion, Duty, and Collaboration
February 10, 2026
Churches are often places of refuge, welcome, and hope. Yet for many congregations, the presence of someone sleeping rough on church land can create tension between compassion and safeguarding.
This is where partnership, preparation, and clear guidance matter.
Housing Justice and the Diocese of London: Developing the Toolkit
Compassionate Communities | Diocese of London (formerly Capital Mass) is the Diocese’s social justice arm, working across issues such as homelessness, food poverty, and modern slavery. Housing Justice has partnered with Compassionate Communities for many years, particularly through our migrant homelessness programmes, offering national expertise rooted in Christian social action.
In June 2025, Compassionate Communities approached Housing Justice to help develop a new resource: a “Rough Sleeping In and Around Churches” toolkit. This was in response to a growing number of churches experiencing rough sleeping on or near their premises, often without clear guidance on how to respond compassionately and effectively.
Drawing on decades of frontline experience, Housing Justice worked closely with the Diocese to shape a toolkit that helps churches:
- Understand their Christian calling to respond with compassion
- Navigate safeguarding, legal, and property responsibilities
- Work constructively with local authorities and services
- Avoid actions that unintentionally increase harm
The toolkit was completed and published ahead of the winter shelter season, providing churches with practical, faith-rooted guidance before crisis points were reached.
See below a case study illustrating why careful preparation and collaboration are essential in supporting people facing homelessness.
Case Study: A multi-agency safeguarding journey rooted in Christian duty
In early November 2025, Compassionate Communities contacted Housing Justice for support with a complex situation on a church site in Brent. A vacant church property was in the process of being sold, but a man, referred to here as K, had been sleeping rough on the land for nearly a year.
K was living in a makeshift structure in a corner of the church car park. His conditions were extremely dangerous:
- No heating, water, electricity, or sanitation
- Ongoing threats from others, including a risk of arson
- Severe mental health difficulties
- Long-term heroin and crack cocaine dependency
- High risk of self-neglect, overdose, and serious harm
Despite these risks, K struggled to engage consistently with services. Trauma, neurodivergence, addiction, and deep mistrust of systems meant that his situation sat in a space where people often fall through the cracks.
This was not simply a housing issue – it was a safeguarding crisis.
The Role of the Church and a Local Volunteer
At the heart of this response was Tom, a local resident and church volunteer. He became involved through his local church and community.
Tom first noticed fly-tipping and rubbish on the vacant church land and initially assumed K was responsible. But when he stopped to speak with him, the situation quickly revealed itself to be far more serious.
What began as a concern about the church grounds became a deeply personal response to human need.
As Tom later reflected:
“As a local resident and a humble Anglican myself, I wanted to support K simply as a matter of Christian duty – to treat a brother as I would hope to be treated in his position.”
Tom acted as a consistent human presence, a bridge between fractured systems, and a compassionate advocate for K. His contribution can be seen in five interlocking roles:
- Relentless Advocacy
Tom tirelessly pursued statutory and safeguarding processes wherever the system stalled. He drafted letters to trigger relief duties, escalated safeguarding concerns, and challenged delays, ensuring K was treated as a vulnerable adult with enforceable rights. - Cross-Sector Coordination
He coordinated across local authorities, NHS mental health teams, addiction services, voluntary organisations, and the church, making sure information flowed, evidence was shared appropriately, and no service worked in isolation. - Trauma-Informed, Practical Support
Beyond system-level advocacy, Tom provided day-to-day support, accompanying K to appointments, helping with paperwork and identification, and ensuring access to basic needs such as food and washing facilities. - Safeguarding and Risk Management
Tom consistently prioritised safety, submitting Adult at Risk referrals, documenting vulnerability, and taking immediate steps to prevent harm during crises or threats on church land. - Persistence Under Pressure
Despite repeated setbacks — missed appointments, delayed responses, legal challenges, and extreme weather — Tom maintained focus and momentum, coordinating calmly with lawyers, housing officers, and health services to secure a safe and dignified transition for K.
Through all of this, Tom demonstrated the heart of Christian duty: acting with love, courage, and patience, even in the most complex circumstances.
Housing Justice’s Role: Equipping Churches to Act with Compassion
While Tom provided the consistent human presence, advocacy, and practical support that K needed, Housing Justice’s contribution lay in equipping volunteers and churches with guidance, tools, and frameworks to respond effectively.
The “Rough Sleeping in and Around Churches” toolkit, developed in partnership with Compassionate Communities | Diocese of London, forms the foundation for this support. Tom has fully integrated this guidance into his operational approach, using it to inform trauma-informed engagement, safeguarding, referral pathways, and structured decision-making for church volunteers.
The toolkit helps churches and volunteers:
- Respond to rough sleeping with compassion grounded in Christian duty
- Navigate safeguarding responsibilities and legal requirements
- Engage safely with statutory and voluntary services
- Maintain volunteer wellbeing while de-escalating complex situations
This case demonstrates how the right preparation, guidance, and partnership allow churches to act confidently and effectively when responding to people sleeping rough on church land.
The Outcome
Through sustained, coordinated effort:
- K was formally recognised as an Adult at Risk
- Statutory homelessness duties were accepted
- Interim, then temporary accommodation was secured
- Engagement with mental health and addiction services stabilised
- The church land was cleared without returning K to the streets
This was not just about securing accommodation. It was about restoring dignity, reducing immediate risk, and creating the possibility of recovery.
Why This Matters
This case shows what is possible when churches:
- Take their Christian duty seriously
- Are equipped with the right guidance
- Work in partnership rather than isolation
- Refuse to allow vulnerability to be lost between systems
It also shows why Housing Justice’s role matters. Without specialist expertise, churches can be left carrying impossible responsibility alone, or pressured into decisions that conflict with their faith values.
A Journey Still Unfolding
K coming inside was not the end of his story, but the beginning of a fragile new chapter. Since moving into accommodation, he has faced setbacks, including relapse during a period of acute stress. Tom continues to support and advocate for him, while services remain involved.
Recovery is rarely linear. Christian compassion does not demand perfection, it demands perseverance.
Conclusion
Responding to rough sleeping on church land is never simple. But this case reminds us that Christian duty is not abstract. It is lived out through persistence, collaboration and compassion.
