Since living in London, I have been struck by the amount of homeless people I see everyday. In fact, last year, around 4,800 people were estimated to be sleeping rough in England.

Two years ago, for the month of January, my mission was simple: swap alcoholic drinks for hot drinks for the homeless. However, since doing that I learnt two things:

1) Lots of food chains like Pret á Manger give out hot drinks and food to people sleeping rough, particularly in winter.

2) Period poverty. Many homeless women struggle to afford or find appropriate sanitary protection during their periods.

So, my goal is to raise enough money to pre-pay for some beds in shelters and hostels in central London and to pay for 30 period protection products to give to various homeless shelters for homeless women.

So, this year I will be doing dry Jan but for a bigger cause, one very close to my heart. My Freda has also kindly offered to match what I raise. This is an incredible charity that I worked with earlier this year who's social purpose is to help fight period poverty and raise awareness for women refugees helping them have access to appropriate period care. (https://myfreda.com/our-story/)

It is so easy to become 'legally homeless' but it's so easy to help too.

Thank you!

Ellen