I don’t need to tell you it’s hard out there. Shelter reported in December last year that 382,618 people in England are now classified as homeless, including 175,025 children. A horrifying statistic in supposedly the fifth richest country on earth - and Chelmsford isn’t isolated from this growing trend. In the council’s latest report in 2024, they reported the number of people on the housing register grew from 655 in 2020 to 1,543 in 2024.

But these aren’t statistics, they are people, they are families, they are sons, daughters, brothers, sister, mothers, fathers, friends and lovers, just like all of us. Homelessness can affect anyone, all it takes is a turn in fortunes. And not everyone has a support system to catch them when they’re down - that’s where a place like Sanctus comes in.

This charity, located near the centre of the city, provides warm meals for those in need, acts as a food bank and also has an NHS clinic every week. They even have showers for unhoused people to use - imagine not being able to access a shower, to clean yourself. They help people with letters and bills and counselors are available for mental health assistance. Chelmsford needs a place like Sanctus more than ever.

So what are we going to do about it? Well, you don’t even need to do anything other than give money to this page - I will do the hard work for us. Chelmsford was founded by the Romans in 60AD around the River Chelmer, the lifeblood of this great city. It is 65km long and has allowed this place to thrive from being a Roman fort, to what Charles Dickens described as ‘the dullest and most stupid place on earth’, to our lovely, bustling city today.

In honour of the great river and to raise as much money for Sanctus to use as possible, I am going to spend a month swimming the length of the River Chelmer in my local swimming pool, Riverside - the whole 65km.

“A whole month? That’s so long for that distance. The London marathon is 42.195km long.” WRONG. Swimming is way harder than running.

According to the experts on Reddit’s (which we all use for answers if it’s not on Wikipedia after Google exploded itself) R/Swimming, there’s a 1:4 ratio for swimming compared to running. So in running terms, the 65km swim is actually a 260km run. That’s like almost running all the way to Sheffield from Chelmsford.

So please donate to my fundraiser for Sanctus to help keep these amazing services running. If you’re local, consider donating items to their charity shop, located opposite the centre. And if you’re a friend of mine I will be accepting donations for it too.

TL:DR: Homelessness is bad, Sanctus is helping people affected by it, let’s help them as I put my body through a gruelling physical task. Only thing you need to do is donate