There will be a second collection on 26th/27th January following all the masses, for ‘Serving the Homeless.’ This is our local ecumenical Charity which supports Homelessness projects in Southend. We were able to spend over £15,000 on projects last year which helped individuals out of homelessness.

The 2018 report on Homelessness from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation reveals that:

• 70% of local authorities had difficulties finding social housing for homeless people last year, while a striking 89% reported difficulties in finding private rented accommodation. As housing supply dwindles rents are outstripping wages and benefits. Therefore, the majority of local councils in England are struggling to find any stable housing for homeless people in their area.

40,000 people were evicted by private landlords in 2017; 4 out of 5 were ‘no-fault’ evictions, i.e. where there was no complaint against the tenant. They were evicted because they were low income tenants and the landlords could charge more rent if they evicted them.

• There are currently 78,000 homeless households in England in temporary accommodation and, if current trends continue, more than 100,000 such households will be trapped in temporary accommodation by 2020.

• The problem of rising homelessness is not limited to London. 40% of London councils, 76% of councils in the Midlands, 70% of councils in the south and 62% of councils in the north, all said that the numbers of homeless families and individuals seeking help were rising. Our own local problems are visible every day on our streets and in our emergency night shelters.

Please be as generous as you can. Jo Ronan, Chairwoman Serving the Homeless.