By Victoria Linney | Corporate Partnerships Coordinator
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who generously donated to the "Help St Mungo's End Rough Sleeping by 2026" campaign. Thanks to your contributions, we are one step closer to achieving our goal of ending homelessness.
As the number of people experiencing homelessness continues to rise (up 27% in 2024 alone), donations from people like you play an increasingly vital role in helping individuals recover and rebuild their lives.
In the past year, St Mungo’s has been able to achieve the following:
• We provided support to 28,359 people who were homeless or at risk of homelessness across 161 different services, including our dedicated outreach, accommodation, and recovery services.
• 7,274 people were supported by our outreach teams.
• An average of 2,735 people were provided with housing and support on any given night.
• 89 clients were supported into paid employment.
However, despite this progress, our work is more important than ever before. Homelessness is a growing crisis in the UK, and new statistics released by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government show that 4,667 people slept on the streets in England on a snapshot night in autumn 2024, a 20% increase from the autumn 2023 total of 3,898.
Emma Haddad, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, said:
“This latest rise in figures shows homelessness is closer to home than we think. St Mungo’s frontline teams see the real impact of this ongoing crisis every day, with more and more people being pushed onto the streets and needing our help. We can see statutory services struggling and buckling under the pressures these numbers create. We know the longer it takes to provide people with the support they need, the more complex their support needs become. Early intervention is vital to break this heartbreaking cycle.”
Deon’s Story
In March, St Mungo’s celebrated International Women’s Day and used the campaign to raise awareness of the unique and often traumatic challenges women face when experiencing homelessness. At St Mungo’s, we run women’s creative groups, which allow female clients like Deon to feel safe within their recovery from homelessness and use creativity to find their spark in life again.
Creativity can be a vital tool in processing what clients have been through and are still going through. It can also offer space to reflect, provide escapism, and offer the opportunity to express themselves, helping to rebuild confidence and self-esteem.
Deon has experienced first-hand the difference creativity makes. She became homeless after being unexpectedly evicted. After an extremely difficult time and several challenging housing situations, Deon was admitted to a psychiatric unit. Throughout her recovery with St Mungo's, she discovered that creative pursuits helped her:
“I paint, and my main love is ceramics – I’m studying for a qualification in that at the moment. I'll try anything and see if it sticks. If it makes me feel calm and time melts away, then I’m happy.”
Creativity has transformed Deon’s life in more ways than one. What started as a hobby and meditative practice is now her career. She now runs art workshops and has designed her own course through contacts she built through St Mungo’s.
So far in 2025, your donations have helped us continue our vital services to transform the lives of people like Deon, and we look forward to working together in the future.
Thank you.
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