What if you didn’t even have a bed to sleep in? Or know that you had a warm dinner to look forward to? This is the sad reality for 25,000 young people facing homelessness in the UK. We’d like to help change these numbers, so we are rallying the support of you, our Domus Nova friends and community, to help us raise money for Centrepoint. All you need to do is donate – and it will help change lives.



Who is Centrepoint?
Centrepoint is the UK’s leading charity for homeless young people. It helps over 9,000 16 to 25 year olds into housing and employment every year. Working directly in London and the north of England, they cover all of the UK through a network of 40 partner organisations. Of the thousands of homeless youth Centrepoint is trying to help, 54% are not in education, employment or training. The services Centrepoint provides are geared to providing the support, basic skills, education and qualifications so young individuals can get on their feet.

Why is Domus Nova getting involved?
Our Christmas window installations are something that Domus Nova looks forward to every year. Often, we partner with local designers to create something fun, eye-catching and unique. When brainstorming for the 2016 installation, we realised that our windows could be a great tool for raising awareness about the devastating realities of homelessness. In the past, we exchanged our staff Christmas gifts for donations towards Crisis at Christmas, but felt that on top of this, there was certainly more we could do to combat the ever-growing problem. This year we’ve been inspired by the work that Centrepoint is doing to address the significant issues with youth homelessness. And this is how the ‘change the numbers’ campaign was born.

What does this campaign entail?
The campaign encourages our audiences – whether they see the campaign in our Domus Loves newssheet, window installation or on social media – to donate. Our 2016 Christmas installations went live on Wednesday, 7 December, and were a very visual and tactile way to raise awareness. For the installations we enlisted Goldfinger Factory, a local social-enterprise focused on youth, to create giant abacuses, with house-shaped beads that can be moved up and down the rails. We wanted the ABACUS to be representative of the numbers of young homeless, and how little it might take to change their lives. We hope bright colours will draw the attention of passers-by, and leave an impression on those who might like to turn their privileges this Christmas, towards something beneficial for those less fortunate. Our aim is simple – stop, think, donate. It does not take much to make a difference, and a bed is just the first step. A donation of just £30 could help provide a safe, warm room for a young person arriving at Centrepoint, and a few creature comforts. Making sure someone stays off the streets also means finding the right kind of support that can help someone secure a job, and the stability to self-sustain.

What’s in a number?
Donations, no matter how little or significant you perceive them to be, can help make a tangible difference. Here are just some of the services Centrepoint can make available with increased funding.

- £5 could help provide a hot meal

- £25 could provide a counselling session to help a young person face the future

- £30 could cover the cost of a monthly travel card – ensuring that a young person could get to college

- £50 could pay for a study kit for a homeless person to start a course and take one step closer to independent living

- £100 could provide a necessary skills certificate for young people wanting to work in construction

- £200 could provide 5 crisis intervention sessions to help young people overcome traumatic pasts

- £350 could provide a room, study support, food and practical support for a young person, and give them a truly meaningful opportunity to escape homelessness

- £500 could cover the costs of exam fees for 10 young people, earning them the vital maths and English qualifications they need to get a job

- £1,000 could pay for a homeless young person to receive one-to-one advice and support from a mentor for 12 months, improving their chances of finding and maintaining a job and a home

- £2,500 could cover the cost of a young person’s entire journey with Centrepoint – from homelessness to independence

- £10,000 could fully fund a Homeless FA Training Centre in 2017

Help us change the numbers!