A few weeks ago, it was my privilege to be invited to visit the Shelter helpline facility in Sheffield. I drove over the Pennines on the most brilliant, clear day, and although I was really looking forward to the experience, I didn’t really know what to expect. I’ve supported Shelter for many years and feel deeply for the many individuals and families who find themselves homeless or facing a housing emergency. However, I … Read more
Category: Taking Part
HomeRun: What is it and how can I take part?
Our new fundraising challenge, HomeRun, is unlike anything we’ve ever done before. Here we explain what it’s all about and how to get involved.
What is HomeRun?With its customisable goals and location, HomeRun is the fundraising challenge that fits around you. Sign up online and set yourself a distance target to walk or run over the course of April. Then you can make up the miles wherever and whenever works for you, in as many stages as you … Read more
Bringing two passions together for Shelter
London GROW trainee, Liam, is bringing his two passions together again by stepping up from a half to the full London Marathon – this time, for Shelter!
Running for goodHi, I’m Liam – and I’m the new Getting Real Opportunities of Work (GROW) trainee with the London STAR team (Supporting Tenancies, Accommodation and Reconnections). This year, as well as learning the ropes in my new role, I’ll be taking on another challenge: running the London Marathon! And all the … Read more
Helpline heroes are fighting the housing emergency
Every minute matters when a family is facing a housing emergency.
Our helpline answers around 100 calls a day from people in need of help with their housing. Many of them are in desperate situations, so our advisers spring straight into action. Now we need your help so that we can continue our round the clock support.
One of the many advisers working on our helpline is Adam. He’s been working here since June and has already helped many people … Read more
Humanising digital to give personalised advice to people struggling with housing
Over the last three years, we have been busy working on various areas to improve our services. The number of people that need our help keeps dramatically increasing, so we streamlined the digital experience for people that want to access our services – and redefined what counted as an emergency, so we can answer more urgent calls.
Now, we want to expand our digital offer so that we can help more of the people whose situation is not … Read more
Creating focus using design sprints at Shelter
At Shelter, we fight for people’s right to a safe home. This could mean us providing legal representation against someone’s eviction in court, providing one-to-one advice via our helpline or hubs, or lobbying the government against estate agent fees, which we successfully managed to ban last summer ✊🏽.
UX time is shared across all parts of Shelter, whether that be campaigns, services, or fundraising, each with different priorities and deadlines. This means it can sometimes be quite hard to balance … Read more
Your race, your pace: HomeRun is back
Last April, over 1,170 people united to help fight homelessness as part of our new HomeRun challenge. Together they covered over 30,000 miles – equivalent to circling around the planet and then some – and raised a staggering £59,000.
We couldn’t be more chuffed with the result and this year HomeRun is going to be even bigger, raise even more, and have an even bigger impact on the housing emergency. Are you in?
What is HomeRun?HomeRun is the fundraising challenge for … Read more
Swinton MD takes on Kilimanjaro for Shelter
In early 2018, Swinton Insurance announced a partnership with Shelter, their ambition being to generate funds and raise awareness around poor-quality homes, the housing shortage, and homelessness across the country.
With plans for a series of fundraising events for colleagues and customers, Swinton committed to raising £50,000 by April 2020 – and we’re delighted to say they’re already just a few pounds away from reaching that target! People all across the company have taken on challenges like the London Marathon, … Read more
Shelter and B&Q: transforming homes and improving lives
This year, as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, B&Q delivered six home makeovers for those who have used Shelter’s services, transforming their homes and enabling them to feel safe and secure. At each makeover, our DIY Skills Advisers (DIYSAs) worked with the individuals and families to decide what home improvements would be undertaken, ensuring that they were at the heart of any work done on their homes.
The makeovers wouldn’t have been possible without B&Q volunteers bringing their enthusiasm, … Read more
9-year-old Lovisa to cycle 100 miles to fight homelessness
9-year-old Lovisa is doing her bit to fight homelessness with her very own Home2Shelter bike ride, an 100 mile sponsored cycle from her home in Great Blakenham, Suffolk, to Shelter’s London headquarters.
Lovisa is passionate about cycling and the freedom it gives her and will be accompanied on her bike ride by her Dad, Jamie.
‘Having seen the challenges met by those facing homelessness, Lovisa felt lucky to have a home, and was moved to do something to help,’ Jamie … Read more
Shelter Dorset: the power of a makeover
Volunteers for Shelter Dorset have been hard at work doing hub and home makeovers. In the most recent home makeover, volunteers helped a family who’d been living in temporary accommodation settle into their new home by doing decorating and DIY.
‘It makes such a big difference to our service users,’ hub manager Kate Parker said. ‘It’s about making the house a home.’
The makeover is thanks to B&Q employees, who volunteer for Shelter as part of our corporate partnership. 14 … Read more
Partnerships are key for Shelter Norwich
Saturday 6 July was Norwich’s Lord Mayor’s Celebration, a parade through centre of Norwich that included dancers, musicians, performers, floats and puppets. This year, pride of place at the front of the procession was taken by the Norwich Financial Inclusion Consortium, a group of charities that includes Shelter Norwich.
The Norwich Financial Inclusion Consortium led the parade because they were named the Lord Mayor and Sheriff’s Civic Charity of the Year, due to the consortium’s work helping people with a … Read more