Homelessness Sunday 2026

Housing Justice holds Homelessness Sunday on the Sunday before World Homeless Day each year. This year, Homelessness Sunday falls on 4th October, and our theme is ‘Community Cohesion’. 

Our aim is to raise awareness of the issues surrounding homelessness among Churches and their congregations by asking Churches to run their own Homelessness Sunday Service, either on 4th October or on a more convenient date. Below you will find a range of resources to support you in doing this. 

We hope that by taking time to reflect on Homelessness Sunday, Church congregations will consider what they can do in their own community to alleviate homelessness, suffering and poverty. Beneath our Church Resources, you will find some suggestions you might like to consider. 

Did you know?

Latest homelessness statistics

England Data:

Temporary Accommodation and Families
– 134,210 households lived in temporary accommodation as of December 2025, marking a 5.0% increase from the previous year
– 176,130 children were without a permanent home living in temporary accommodation
– 43,040 households (about 1 in 3) were placed in temporary accommodation outside of their local home area.

Rough Sleeping
– 4,793 people were recorded sleeping rough on a single autumn night in 2025, representing a 56% increase compared to three years prior
– 733 women were identified among single-night rough sleeping counts, an 8% increase from the prior year
– 8,010 estimated individuals slept rough at some point across the month of December 2025.

Council Support Duties
– 33,630 households applied and were owed a prevention duty as they faced imminent risk of homelessness
– 42,640 households were initially assessed as actively homeless and owed a relief duty by local authorities.

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Wales Data:
Temporary Accommodation and families
– 6,201 households lived in temporary accommodation as at 31 March 2026, down 3% on the previous year
– Bed and breakfasts and hotels accounted for the greatest proportion of households in temporary accommodation (2,187 households or 35%), down from 2,532 the previous year.

Rough Sleeping
Wales does not have a significant problem with rough sleeping in the way that England does and the latest data shows there were estimated to be 143 people rough sleeping across Wales in March 2026.

Council Support Duties
– The number of households assessed as homeless and owed a duty to help secure accommodation (Section 73) was 12,183, a 6% decrease compared to the previous year
– 7,017 households were identified as unintentionally homeless and in priority need (Section 75), a decrease of 2% compared to the previous year.

Source: Welsh Government

Online Homelessness Sunday Service

Once again, we are pre-recording a Homelessness Sunday Church Service which will be available on the Church of England ‘Church Online’ channel. You can watch our service from 09.00 on Sunday 4th October here.

Resources

Prayers, Hymns and Inter-Generational Service Resources

Please find resources to download below:

 

The Lectionary Reading for Homelessness Sunday

Matthew 21.42 to the end

42 Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes”?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom.
44 The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls.’
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them.
46 They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.

Reflections on the Reading

by Rt Rev. Rob Wickham

In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus offers, time and time again, a glimpse of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.  Matthew’s Gospel regularly uses imagery and quotes from the Old Testament, to root the story of Jesus as the Messiah predicted in the Old Testament.  This reading is no different.

The stone that the builders rejected has become a cornerstone is a direct quote from Psalm 118.  Jesus is using architectural imagery this time, making a reference to himself as the cornerstone – the critical stone upon which the rest of the building is built.  The cornerstone needs to be placed in the correct position otherwise the rest of the building’s walls would not align.  Yet he is noting that this stone has been rejected, pointing us towards the cross.

Through this metaphor, Jesus is speaking, again, about the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom which, built on Jesus as the cornerstone, will be given to those who produce the fruits of the Kingdom.  These fruits being both the values by which people thrive and the virtues which evidence these values.

As we commemorate Homelessness Sunday, we may wish to reflect upon our own values that we live by, and the virtues which evidence these values.  In an age when there is much talk of hatred, division and distrust of the unknown, we must remember that love and welcome for the alien and stranger are key to the Christian narrative, and an understanding of God’s Kingdom.  Our calling is to build an inclusive community for everyone, and not just those who look or sound like me.  The Kingdom of God is universal, and rooted in God’s unrelenting generosity, and it is not bound by human made borders or policies. This makes our shared work one of building communities of love, resilience and cohesion.  An endeavour for all of us, building God’s Kingdom, with clear evidence of its fruits.

What your church can do

More ways to help or get involved

Thank you for reflecting on how your Church can support community cohesion and alleviate homelessness, poverty and suffering in your local community this Homelessness Sunday.  

Each location will face different challenges and it is important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. However, there is a growing awareness that community-based solutions are fundamental to making homelessness rare, brief and non-recurring. Housing Justice’s Citadel Project is a good example of this, and a brief search of the internet will provide you with much evidence-based research that corroborates the efficacy of this approach. You might like to read a recent article by the former Faith and Homelessness Advisor at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government here. 

So, what can your congregation do? 

  • Consider volunteering at a local night shelter, soup kitchen or community project such as Citadel. There will likely be a number of organisations in your area looking for volunteers, and if you can’t find one and believe there is a need, could your Church consider opening its doors to provide food or a bed for someone experiencing homelessness?
  • Consider hosting someone seeking sanctuary and at risk of homelessness in your spare room. Housing Justice runs Hosting Projects in London and Wales and is always looking for new hosts to open their homes in a supported way. You can find out more here. If you are outside of the areas in which we operate, there are a number of other charities that run hosting programmes which you will be able to find online.
  • Consider renting out your room to a newly granted refugee for a period of six months through Housing Justice’s Refugee Lodgings Project. You can find out more here.
  • Take part in a Challenge Event with your friends or run a School Fundraiser to raise money for a homelessness charity of your choice. Find out more about fundraising for Housing Justice here.
  • Make a regular monthly donation to a homelessness charity of your choice – if you would like to make a donation to Housing Justice, you can do so here. 
  • Does your will need updating? Consider leaving a legacy to a homelessness charity of your choice. You can find out more about Housing Justice’s free will making service here.