Homelessness Sunday is more important than ever this year with homelessness charities across the board seeing dramatically increased demand for their services. Housing Justice is no different, with demand at the highest levels experienced in the 70 years since Housing Justice and its heritage organisations were founded.

We organise Homelessness Sunday on the Sunday before World Homeless Day each year, and this year’s Homelessness Sunday falls on 6th October. The theme is ‘Homelessness ends with Communities’ as the role that churches and communities play in ending local homelessness is vital.

Below you will find a range of resources to use if you are planning your own Homelessness Sunday Service either on 6th October or on another date of your choosing. These resources will be added to over the coming weeks and include pre-recorded prayers, hymns, homilies, Junior Church resources and much more.

Open letter to the Government

Thank you for your interest in our open letter to the Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP. The letter is now closed to new signatures and has been sent to the Government.

Reading

 

Read Bishop John's Reflections on the Reading here:

Homelessness Sunday Reflections

Scripture Passages and Prayers

To help you mark Homeless Sunday 2024 we have prepared a selection of relevant passages and prayers here.

 

Hymn Suggestions

To help you mark Homeless Sunday 2024 we have prepared a selection of relevant hymns here.

Junior Church Resources

To help you mark Homeless Sunday 2024 we have prepared a selection of prayers and activities here.

How To Help People Affected By Homelessness

Got a spare room?
Find out more about hosting a destitute asylum seeker in your home in London or Wales.
Watch our hosting video here.

Find out more about renting your spare room in London to a refugee lodger here .

Got some spare time?
Could you consider volunteering for Housing Justice? Find out more about our Citadel programme in Wales here and our newly-launched Citadel programme in England here.

Does your Church have disused or derelict land?
We work with Churches who would like to address homelessness and local housing need by using their derelict or surplus land for affordable housing through our Faith in Affordable Housing programme. Find out more here about Faith in Affordable Housing in England and Wales.

Fundraising
There are a plethora of different ways that you can fundraise to support Housing Justice’s work – perhaps you could consider taking part in a Challenge Event or holding a sponsored event?

Considering leaving a legacy to Housing Justice in your will?
October is Free Wills Month and Housing Justice will be offering free wills to supporters who would like to leave a legacy to Housing Justice. You can find out more here

Here you can find a range of resources about responding to local housing need.

Futher Reading

The Archbishop’s Commission on Housing, Church and Community was launched in April 2019 with the ambitious remit of re-imagining housing policy and practice. You can read their report ‘Coming Home’ here.

‘More than bricks and mortar’ is a resource from the Joint Public Issues team which gives key information, suggests action and provides questions for reflection.

‘A Place to Call Home‘ is a series of six Bible studies for group discussion around a range of housing issues.

Making a home: An independent research into Housing Justice Cymru’s Citadel Project and the importance of volunteers. is a recent qualitative study about our Citadel project, highlighting the impact of volunteers.

Charter For Christian Homelessness Agencies

Facts & Figures

Rough Sleeping -the numbers

Information sheet about families and children affected by homelessness

 

Compared to the general public, people sleeping rough…

  • are almost 17 times more likely to be a victim of violence
  • die 30 years younger on average
  • The average life expectancy for men sleeping rough is 47 and 43 for women

 

When growing up…

  • 2/3 of people who sleep rough experienced violence between parents/carers
  • Just under 60% had a parent/carer with a drug or alcohol problem
  • About half have been sexually and/or physically abused
  • 1/3 have been bullied or have been suspended or expelled from school
  • 25% have been taken into the care of a council as a child or young person
  • 1/4 were brought up in a workless household living on welfare benefits
  • 15% reported that they often did not have enough to eat each day

 

England Figures

Government rough sleeping figures published in March showed an alarming rise of 27% in the number of people being forced to sleep on England’s streets since last year, with 3,898 people sleeping rough on a typical night last Autumn. This is an increase of 120% since records began in 2010.

Each year, local authorities carry out a physical count of rough sleepers on a particular night and the Government uses these figures to arrive at a single figure for the number of people sleeping rough on a ‘typical’ night. This year’s data paints a grim picture with numbers rising for the second year in a row.

Rough sleeping has increased in every region of England compared to last year, with the largest increase in London where there were 1,132 people in 2023 compared to 858 people in 2022 – an increase of 274 people or 32%.

Wales Figures
Here you can read the latest homelessness figures for Wales.

Further Information

For those who wish to do more

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