For anyone facing homelessness, and particularly for people who are sleeping rough, our first priority is to make sure that they have somewhere safe and secure to sleep. Different people need different forms of accommodation, so we have a variety of properties. People can be referred to our accommodation services through local authorities and other partners in the areas we work.
What we do
We operate a range of accommodation services, from basic shelters or hostels, through to supported and semi-independent housing, to help people at every stage of their recovery from homelessness. We believe that people can – and do – recover from the issues that cause homelessness, and a safe and stable living environment is central to this recovery. But our accommodation is much more than bricks and mortar. Alongside having somewhere safe and secure to stay, our staff and volunteers work with our clients to understand their hopes and ambitions, helping them to take the steps they need to in order to achieve these.
Our work in action
Our emergency accommodation helps our clients get off the streets immediately, while we help them on to the next step of their journey away from homelessness. This might be through supporting them to find a detox place, semi-independent accommodation or a private rented home.
We also offer supported accommodation, such as Hope Gardens in Hammersmith and Fulham. The hostel has 27 beds for people who have previously slept rough in the area. There are some for when people first arrive, others offering a more traditional hostel experience, and then training bedsits, designed to help clients prepare to move on.
We operate similar accommodation across London and the south of England, using our recovery ethos, and making the health, safety and wellbeing of our clients our top priorities.
Housing First
Housing First is an internationally recognised approach to tackling homelessness for people who have been unable to sustain long-term accommodation. It provides a tenancy first as a platform for change, with intensive and flexible support to help clients address their needs at their pace. St Mungo’s is one of the largest providers of Housing First services in England, with 12 services supporting 349 clients in different locations. Find out more here.
Dogs welcome
Homelessness is isolating and dangerous. St Mungo’s recognises the powerful emotional support that pets can offer to our clients. That’s why we are one of the few charities that accommodate people with dogs or other pets wherever possible, reducing barriers for someone to come off the streets. We work closely with a number of charities to support clients who have dogs to keep them in good health. Some of our projects also have resident cats.
Read Charrissa's story Read Mandy’s story
How we’re helping
Each night, we provide a bed and support to more than 3,150 people in accommodation that’s owned, run or managed by St Mungo’s.
By 2020, we’ll have spent almost £4 million improving our buildings where our clients live.
Hear from our clients
Bobby came to London looking for work, but things didn’t go to plan. Having spent months sleeping rough, we helped him into accommodation at our Harrow Road hostel.
Operating as a regulated housing association
We own and operate properties across London and the south of England and act as a social landlord – so we’re regulated by the Regulator for Social Housing (RSH). You can read more about who the RSH are and our status as a housing association by seeing how we’re regulated.