Veterans for the Homeless UK – Raising Awareness & Providing Support for all Homeless People.

It started with a night sleeping rough in the streets of Norwich with Matt Page a Former Royal Anglian veteran and his team......

With an estimated 307,000 people registered in the UK as being homeless, THOUSANDS of war veterans are rotting on the streets of Britain because the Government, including local councils are not adequately enforcing a law which states these brave men and women, our military heroes, must be offered homes or shelter. Charities estimate there are as many as 7,000 ex-servicemen and women living rough and in desperate need of a roof over their head.

The Armed Forces Covenant and Community Covenant was introduced by the then government in 2012 as a contract stating Britain’s war heroes should take priority when it comes to affordable housing, and all 407 local authorities signed up to it. SO WHY IS IT NOT WORKING????

Too many local authorities simply pass the buck to their local housing associations when it comes to affordable housing, but only 12 of these associations have signed up to the Covenant, meaning they have no obligation to help veterans at all.

To start raising awareness of our veteran’s plight, a group of veterans from the Royal Anglian Regiment, The Light Dragoons and the Royal Air Force staged a SleepRough event in Norwich on the 3rd February this year and it involved the veterans living rough on the streets of Norwich for the night, mixing with the homeless. Whilst there they were shocked at the amount of time they were moved on by the authorities and shopping centre security. Their only aim was to highlight the fact that we have many homeless, including veterans living on the streets of Norfolk who are being let down by local authorities and housing associations. The event not only raised awareness, a fund giving page raised £2,700 which is being used to buy warm clothing and sleeping bags which is being distributed by the veterans to all homeless people in need.

To continue raising awareness and much needed funds a SleepRough event will take place every 3 months in Norwich, Chelmsford, Colchester, Peterborough & Cambridge, during which, all homeless people will be offered warm clothing, sleeping equipment, food and drink. Veterans taking part in these events will themselves continue to donate clothing, equipment, money or time to support the homeless.

To help the ever-increasing number of veterans and civilians being made homeless we kindly ask you to support our cause by donating whatever you can give by visiting our fund-raising page. Homelessness can happen to anyone at any time and today every town is seeing it. The number of Veterans becoming homeless is increasing and this needs to STOP, in fact homelessness of any kind needs to STOP.

Veterans from the services, are sleeping rough on Saturday 14th July 2018 and we hope you will help us raise much needed funds to help those in need.

Our aim on this night will be to meet and speak to as many homeless people as possible, provide them with immediate support and where possible set up communication plans with homeless veterans to start the long process of getting them off the streets. Many homeless people, including veterans don’t want pity, they want a chance to move forward with their lives and we ask you to help us provide this to them.

Thank you so much for your help.

Veterans for the Homeless UK