St Mungo's Opening doors for homeless people

Forty years of learning

Turning forty is a milestone for anyone. For some it is perhaps a landmark that would rather be forgotten, a source of predictable jokes about being 'over the hill'. However, like many others, St Mungo's are not ashamed of our maturing years.

In fact, St Mungo's are incredibly proud of all we have achieved over the past four decades to help hundreds of thousands of homeless people. And whilst we may take a small amount of time to celebrate with friends and supporters, this is no time for us to rest on our laurels. We know that our 40^th year will be a busy one - perhaps even one of our busiest!

St Mungo's has come a long way since our original inception in 1969. Originally a grassroots movement started by dynamic and committed individuals who pushed a pram around London's streets delivering soup for rough sleepers, we are now the UK's leading charity helping homeless people.

One of St Mungo's first properties, the former Marmite factory in Vauxhall

The intervening years have seen St Mungo's grow tremendously. In many ways, St Mungo's in 2009 is almost unrecognisable from the organisation that opened the doors of the old Marmite factory in Vauxhall and the old Charing Cross hospital to hundreds of rough sleepers seeking refuge from London's cold, lonely and unforgiving streets. And whilst much may have changed in our environment and how we operate - our ethos, drive and commitment remain the same. Our current Chief Executive Charles Fraser, awarded a CBE in 2007 for services to homeless people in London, started his career at St Mungo's nearly 30 years ago at our Charing Cross hostel in October 1980.

St Mungo's remains a pioneering organisation. The past four decades are peppered with innovative new projects, groundbreaking services and successful pilots - from being the first organisation to introduce a dedicated team to help homeless people move on from hostel accommodation to their own homes in 1981 to the launch of our exciting and bold hostel based 'Pathways to Employment' programme only last year.

St Mungo's is still the only third sector agency who has been involved in each of the government initiatives to reduce rough sleeping over the last ten years. When it comes to helping homeless and vulnerable people find effective and integrated solutions for problems with housing, employment, training and health, we really are the experts. The journey here has not been without its challenges. We remain a learning organisation continually striving to improve and cement our position as London's leading charity for homeless people.

The new dining room at our Cedar's Road project

Homelessness is still a serious issue and it is still broadly the same people who are at the bottom of the pile. These are the people St Mungo's was set up to serve, and we'll continue to be proactive in adapting and innovating to meet their needs. These are the people that we'll be spending our 40^th birthday with.

And what a year to be turning forty! The current economic crisis is already taking its toll. We believe it is a stone cold certainty that we shall continue to see more people sleeping rough on London's streets as a result of the recession. Last year we provided support to 1,600 men and women on London's streets. How many more will we have to help this year?

We'll also be spending our birthday continuing to lobby policy makers to acknowledge the very specific and complex needs of homeless people. Our focus this year is the mental health needs of homeless people. And following the success of our first ever Action Week last year, we shall be launching our campaign with our 2009 Action Week in July.

As ever, we remain dependent upon both government commitment and public generosity to continue to develop our vital work. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters without whom our work would not have been possible. Your help means that we can continue to offer hope and a future for so many people.

Find out more about St Mungo's history:

• 17 years ago Norman volunteered at St Mungo's now he is a hostel manager. Read Norman's St Mungo's journey.
• Read about St Mungo's history from our beginnings in 1969 at a house in Battersea to our present work.