Shelter's housing advice was massively helpful to me as I lived in four separate homes in 2018. I've been lucky enough to have a support network that helped me to stay housed in a time when I would otherwise not have afforded to be able to. Not everyone is that lucky though. 

Not everybody can make the choice to leave an unsafe home, whether that be at the hands of the people living there or the conditions they live in. Not everybody can find their way back into a safe home, once they've lost theirs. 

Shelter claims that at least 4,750 people sleep rough on any given night. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are over 90,000 households hidden away in temporary accommodation across England and Scotland, a rise of 38% in the last five years. More than half of homeless families are working, demonstrating that the basic deal between the individual and society – that if you have a job and an income you can expect at least to have a home – has broken down as the national emergency has worsened.

So it makes sense, in this climate, when I run past dozens of rough sleepers every morning along the canal, and feel hopeless for them - that I do something about it. So I'll be running marathons, doing bake sales, making toasties, organising clothes-swaps and who knows what else, to meet my target for them. Please dig deep, it's going to be some serious effort. 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.