On Sunday the 23rd of April, five friends from Deptford (South East London) and Dalston (East London) are coming together to run the 2023 London Marathon in aid of the 999 Club, a charity making change count for homeless people.

Having all in some way experienced the impact of the current cost of living crisis in the UK (e.g. rising bills, housing costs), the devastating reality of how close homelessness can be for anyone, let alone those that are not privileged enough to have a community network around them for support, means it is more vital than ever that we raise awareness on this incredibly important cause.

More than 8,000 people sleep rough on the streets of London each year. Data from the Combined Homelessness and Information Network suggests the number of people either new to rough sleeping or living on the streets in London rose 24% between June and September in 2022 compared to the same period the previous year. With temperatures in London falling below freezing way before winter properly kicked in this year, we are calling for your help to look after those that are most in need.

As a group, we pledge to raise £10,000 to the 999 Club who have  become a valuable community hub that provides a warm welcome, advice and support. Through their services (which includes a Women's Sanctuary, specifically designed to help women), they enable people who are currently homeless, have recently been homeless, are at high risk of becoming homeless or are vulnerably housed (e.g. sofa surfing, temporary accommodation) to:

• Find a sustainable solution to their housing problem
• Provide support into work, or to return to their place of local connection
• Provide support in living productively and independently
• Reduce the threat of accommodation loss and increase capacity to access accommodation
• Increase engagement with them and/or other services
• Increase mental and physical well-being
• Improve financial stability
• Increase and widen positive social networks
• Increase life skills
• Help build confidence, resilience and self-esteem

It costs the 999 Club approx. £28 to give someone breakfast or lunch, let them have a shower and to wash their clothes. Someone who is homeless could have escaped domestic violence, have a drug or alcohol addiction and/or be living with severe mental health problems such as self-harming, depression or anxiety. To see a 999 Club councillor costs approx. £80 an hour, where additional support from external organisations such as Refuse, Samaritans and MIND may also be brought in.

The 999 Club believes the people that visit them are no different from anyone else, rather the challenges they face are greater than those faced by the majority of us. By donating to this meaningful cause, one that is very close to all of our hearts, you will literally help hundreds of people over the course of 2023 with food, shelter, advice and support, and help them to fulfil their potential.

Many thanks for taking the time to read our page. For more information on the 999 Club, please visit: https://999club.org/about-us/. 

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Below are some facts and figures about homelessness in London as listed on the Evolve Housing website:

• Between April and September last year, 5,712 people were sleeping rough in London, a 21% increase compared to the previous year.
• From January to March last year, outreach teams recorded a total of 2998 individuals sleeping rough in London, according to the Combined Homelessness and Information Network.
• Government statistics for the first quarter of 2022 found that the percentage of Londoners living in temporary accommodation was eight times higher than the Rest of England.
• 50.2% of people seen sleeping rough in London between April and June last year were UK nationals.
• According to Government figures, an estimated 640 people slept rough in the capital on a typical night in Autumn 2021.
• Research from Shelter found that 1 in 53 people were homeless in London in 2021.
• In addition to official counts, many more people are ‘hidden homeless’. They may be sofa surfing, living in squats or unsecured accommodation, and don’t show up in official statistics. A 2017 London Assembly report estimated that the number of hidden homeless people could be up to 13 times higher than official figures.