Christmas Appeal 2025

Help us bring hope and belonging this Christmas

With the onset of winter, life is bleak for those experiencing homelessness and without options. Thousands of people, who are just like you and me, are being forced into rough sleeping through no fault of their own. During the winter months, the shelters in Housing Justice’s network provide accommodation for more than 4,200 people who have nowhere else to go. Our volunteer hosts and resident landlords provide warm, safe homes for individuals who would otherwise be experiencing homelessness; and the trained volunteers in our Citadel Project work hard to ensure that everyone in their community has a safe home.

The Housing Justice Night Shelter Network is a national community of faith and volunteer led shelters providing emergency accommodation and support for people experiencing rough sleeping throughout the winter. Our team provides these shelters with expert guidance, training, and help with accessing funding to enhance their services. With a focus on collaboration and local action, we empower shelters to offer wraparound support, and help guests take the next step toward a safe, stable home.

Please help us to help those who need it the most this Christmas.

Christmas Message

from the Right Reverend Bishop Rob Wickham, Chair of Housing Justice

Dear Friends,

Can you try and imagine what it was like for Mary and Joseph, entering the town of Joseph’s ancestors with no place to stay? They were political migrants, forced by the political powers to travel, yet with no idea where they would stay for the night. The thought is almost unbearable.

The facts show that they are not alone.

When we think of homelessness, we may think of London, where there was a 4% increase in the number of people rough sleeping between April and June this year, now at almost 2,000 people.

Elsewhere in England almost 3,500 people were sleeping rough, up 11% on the same period last year; and in Wales, 11,000 people are in unsuitable temporary accommodation, including many children, and Welsh Government data tells us that over 100 people are sleeping rough.

Each statistic is a real, vulnerable and frightened person.

When Mary and Joseph entered Bethlehem, they discovered kindness and love. They were welcomed by a person of peace who made space for them out of the kindness in his heart. An innkeeper who exemplified that which Jesus was to reveal most fully to the world. This was not just a selfless act as the innkeeper, and Mary and Joseph, were both a blessing and blessed.

Housing Justice raises up people and communities of peace who dare to care. In partnership, thousands of modern-day innkeepers open their doors for night shelters, hosting and befriending to more than 4,500 people each year, especially at this time of cold weather and oppressive streets.

This Christmas, will you be that innkeeper? Will you also dare to care? Will you be part of this movement of kindness, belonging and hope? Housing Justice cannot do this work alone. Please support our appeal and bring a Christmas blessing to those who need it the most.

With my love,
+Rob

Case Studies

Sam's Story

Last winter, 18-year-old Sam was brought into one of the shelters in our network by a member of the public who had found him cold, wet and shivering under Kingston Bridge where he had been rough sleeping. He had been staying with a friend and attending Kingston College, studying for A Levels in Maths, Physics and Computer Science, when his friend unexpectedly asked him to leave. He had nowhere to go.

Sam was reluctant to go with the stranger but eventually agreed, and arrived at the shelter frightened and in tears. The team explained that they could offer him a warm, dry bed and hot food, and he started to relax a little. He was so exhausted and frightened that he couldn’t eat that night, and fell straight asleep.

Sam slowly settled into life at the shelter and began to open up about his life. With no family to care for him, he got up each day at around 4 am to study before school, and then returned at the end of the day to eat, chat with the other guests and go to bed early. On Sundays he attended a local Church.

When the shelter closed at the end of the winter, the team was able to find him a room in a shared house close to his school, and he is now a completely different young man to the one who first arrived at the shelter. Smiling from ear to ear, standing tall, confident, and happy, he is enjoying his life, his room and the company of friends.

Miriam's Story

Miriam was referred to Housing Justice by a local homelessness service in North London after leaving her Home Office accommodation following her grant of refugee status. At the time, she was living in temporary accommodation and faced the risk of homelessness when her local council decided she was not in priority need.

Through the Refugee Lodgings Project, Miriam moved in with a resident landlord in South London, where she stayed for six months. The move allowed her to remain close to her church, where she is an active member of the choir.

After more than ten years without a permanent home, Housing Justice supported Miriam in finding her own flat, which she moved into in February this year. Now settled and thriving, she has become an advocate for both Housing Justice and the lodgings project. Earlier this year, she shared her lived experience at a workshop with the GLA and local councils, helping to highlight the challenges newly recognised refugees face when trying to secure housing.

Miriam is currently completing a six-week hospitality training course and looks forward to starting work soon. She is also a committed member of our Lived Experience Group, which meets every six weeks to guide and shape our work.

“You helped me a lot with housing and gave me a community every month through meeting with people… I’m really happy with everything Housing Justice has done for me.”

“Having my own home was so important to me. You told me you’re here for me, and it was so helpful to know there was someone there to help. This was important for me as I have no family here and live alone — it’s always good to know I can call Housing Justice. It’s like a family to me.”