Homelessness

Helping to tackle a national issue

The number of people sleeping on the streets in Britain has increased substantially in the past few years, but rough sleeping is just the most visible part of a much wider homelessness pandemic, with many people using foodbanks on a daily basis. We have a large role to play to support our communities, who provide support for people in need. What we can do to help is make the most of our network, used by thousands of people each day, to reach those who are willing to help. We pledge to support our local partners, including:

• Foodbanks and kitchens
• Homeless provisions and prevention services
• Fundraising initiatives

Our teams have held food banks, donation drives, fundraising cake sales and helped out in the kitchen at local shelters.

The Railway Food Collection

Partnering with local foodbanks to support our local communities

During the UK lockdown restrictions in April 2020, the Trussell Trust’s network of food banks saw an 89% increase in need compared to the same period last year, with a staggering 107% increase in emergency food parcels for children. We responded by holding foodbank collections at stations in the Southern region we held regular collections for the BMECP Foodbank (Black and Minority Ethnic Community Partnership) - https://bmecp.org.uk/bmecp-food-bank/