This year Machins Solicitors LLP celebrates its 100 year anniversary and as part of our year long celebration, we have decided to give back to the local communities that have supported and contributed to our success.

Our first beneficiary is a special charity called DENS. 

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the charity's work, DENS support people facing homelessness, poverty, and social exclusion in the Dacorum area. They provide accommodation, advice, training, and confidence building to give them a fighting chance of changing the unimaginable circumstances they find themselves in. 

The importance of charities like DENS cannot be overstated in our current economic climate. The homelessness crisis in the UK is at breaking point, with a staggering 320,000 people on the streets. There is also an estimated 85,000 stuck in temporary accommodation waiting to be housed (including children) and an uncertain number of 'hidden homeless' who are unknown to authorities, staying with relatives or friends, sofa surfing, or sleeping in cars or the countryside – places official counts don’t cover. In addition to these every increasing statistics, a further 22,000 young people are considered to be at immediate risk of homelessness too.

Poverty and homelessness do not only affect people without homes; it is a significant cost to the public purse. Each year, costs of £4,298 per person are spent on NHS services, £2,099 per person for mental health services and £11,991 per person in contact with the criminal justice system. This is considerably more than what it would cost to invest in schemes that would prevent people being in this situation in the first place. This is something that we can all assist with.

Urgent action is needed, so in an attempt to raise awareness and funds,  our staff and their family members have decided to brave the cold for a night and take part in a sponsored sleep out at our new offices on Friday 21st February 2020. What better way to support the vulnerable in society than to experience sleeping rough on a cold February night, whilst raising money for the cause. 

Please help us make a difference by making a donation. No donation is too small and every donation is appreciated. To give you an idea of how your donation will help ... 

++ £10 could pay for 7 hot lunches at the DENS Day Centre

++ £10 pays for a month's showers for rough sleepers the Day Centre 

++ £20 pays for fuel to distribute food parcels to struggling families and individuals

++ £20 could pay for 14 hot lunches at our Day Centre so that no rough sleeper goes hungry 

++ £30 pays for 1 week's food for a resident at The Elms £135 will provide food for our hostel, The Elms, for one week

++ £600 will pay for the fuel to distribute food parcels for 1 year.

A little goes a long way!

Thank you in advance.

MACHINS.