I call myself a citizen of the world

In celebration of Black History Month, we have been sharing the diverse stories of our staff and clients. Shaaban, Deputy Manager of Islington Mental Health Service, explains how his own experiences of homelessness have helped shape his approach to supporting people with complex needs such as those recovering from drug and alcohol use or mental and […]

Helping people sleeping rough from Europe and beyond

Petra Salva is St Mungo’s Director of Rough Sleepers, Migrants and Criminal Justice Services. She has been working directly with people sleeping rough in London for over 20 years and heads up St Mungo’s rough sleeper and outreach teams across London boroughs and south east England. Petra also represents St Mungo’s on a pan European […]

Outreach on the streets of Connecticut

This summer Ed Addison, Case Coordinator for St Mungo’s project Street Impact London, took part in an eye opening two week long cultural exchange programme, travelling to Connecticut in the USA to learn about their approach to supporting people who are sleeping rough. Ed explains more about the homelessness situation in New Haven, the challenges […]

How we’re supporting local authorities to help more people off the streets

In March 2018 the government announced a targeted £30m fund to support local authorities with high numbers of people sleeping rough help more people off the streets. This funding is welcome, but scaling up and developing new services quickly and effectively can prove challenging. Petra Salva, Director of Outreach Services, and Julie Middleton, Head of […]

A turning point in the history of rough sleeping?

As the Government publishes its new Rough Sleeping Strategy, Beatrice Orchard, St Mungo’s Head of Policy, Campaigns and Research, welcomes a good first step, but calls for more work to ensure no one has to sleep rough ever again At the last count 4,751 people were sleeping rough on any one night in England. Each […]

“The dignity and respect she deserved”

St Mungo’s project worker, Shayeena, explains how the Street Impact project enabled her to provide innovative, holistic support for our client June when she really needed it Working at St Mungo’s you sometimes receive some difficult phone calls. But last week I got a call that really made me smile. I received a voicemail from […]

How can we halt the rise in ‘returners’?

Rory Weal, St Mungo’s Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer, looks at why more people are returning to rough sleeping and why the Government needs to act now to halt a worrying trend For those of us passionate about ending homelessness there was, for once, some welcome news last week. New figures from the latest annual […]

We must not let fatalism set in

Rory Weal, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer at St Mungo’s, explains why we’re calling on Government to enact urgent measures to stop the scandal of people dying on the streets One week ago marked the first anniversary of the Grenfell Tower disaster. It was a time to reflect not only on the lives that were lost […]

‘Giving people a fresh start in life’

“We help people who are living in their own homes but need support to ensure they are able to keep a roof over their head.” Ola Pedro, Team Leader at St Mungo’s Tenancy Sustainment Team North, tells us about how his team supports people who previously slept rough to live independently in the community. St […]

Towards a new rough sleeping strategy

Beatrice Orchard, St Mungo’s Head of Policy, Campaigns and Research, writes about our priorities as the Homelessness Reduction Act and other measures seek to end homelessness The Homelessness Reduction Act comes into force today. This is a landmark piece of legislation with the potential to have a hugely positive impact on the lives of many […]