Free webinar – Wednesday 1st July at 3pm

For Churches wanting to engage with the homeless in response to COVID-19
 

The homeless need churches like never before.

If you missed it you can watch a recording here:

What will answer a homeless person’s need that over 70 churches are already doing?

Join us at one of our webinars on 3rd June at 3 or 6 pm as Rt Revd Graham Tomlin, Bishop of Kensington, Ed Walker, founder of Hope into Action UK, Jon Kuhrt from the Government rough sleeping unit and Kate Doran-Smith, who runs over 75 homes for the homeless, answer this question.

Background:
Thousands of ‘rough-sleepers’ have been moved off the streets into hotels. But where will they go next? Night-shelters may not be deemed safe to re-open. Additionally unemployment is up by over 1 million. Domestic violence up.

Why are we doing this? 3 reasons:
 
We see a rising tsunami of need in this country:

• Thousands of rough sleepers have been moved into hotels. No-one really knows where they will go next.
• Domestic violence is up by 150% in some areas of the country.
• Unemployment is up.
• Recession is now upon us.
• Once the moratorium on evictions has been lifted, people expect a rise in homelessness.

 
The second reason is who else will step-up to meet the need?

• Night-shelters are deemed no longer safe.
• Government reports over the weekend indicated they may be cutting funding to the homeless. We hope we won’t return to austerity, but you never know.

The third reason is: There is a real opportunity now to radically improve the way the homeless are dealt with in this country.

• The homeless have been saying for years they don’t want to go to hostels (we replied by calling them ‘hard to engage’). Perhaps it is time to listen.
• The Government see this and have phoned us up and asked us to help. They like our model.

We see the homeless in this country needing churches like never before.