04 October 2022
Leading Homelessness charity, St Mungo’s has launched an emotive new fundraising campaign highlighting the life-changing impact that its service can have on people sleeping rough.
The ‘Last Night on the Streets’ campaign starts today (4 October) and will run throughout the winter and includes online content, billboard adverts and newspaper inserts.
It also features a new television advert which will be shown for the first time this week, ahead of World Homeless Day (10 October).
The aim is to increase awareness about the issue of rough sleeping, and to raise vital funds to enable the charity to continue helping people to recover from homelessness.
Ben Eden-Davies, St Mungo’s Head of Individual Giving; said: “For many people, rough sleeping can become a relentless cycle that’s incredibly difficult to escape. Without urgent help, it can even kill.
“St Mungo’s is one of the only organisations to go out every night, finding people sleeping rough, and bringing them in from the cold.
“We’re working hard to make sure that tonight is the last night on the streets for as many people as possible, but we need help to do so.
“That is why our new campaign Last Night on the Streets, which we launch today, is so important. By showing the harsh reality of life on the streets, we hope to encourage as many people as possible to support our vital work so we can continue to be there where we are needed most.”
Sam, whose experience of homelessness was used to inform the campaign, was forced to leave home when he was a teenager. He slept on the streets of London for eight months before getting a place in a hostel, where first met support workers from St Mungo’s.
Now, Sam is living in his own house and working. He said: “Knowing it was my last night on the streets was such a sense of relief, it felt like the nightmare is finally coming to an end. I felt anticipation, excitement and nerves of what was to come.
“The best night’s sleep I ever had was actually the first one off the street. With the help of St Mungo’s, I have now put things in place to make sure that I never end up on the street again, I have a job for life now, and a stable, long-term home.
“I’m a happy person but when I was on the streets I felt numb. The staff at St Mungo’s didn’t make me feel like a “client” or a “resident”, they treated me as a human.”
Anyone interested in supporting the campaign can donate here and if you are interested in our volunteering opportunities visit the St Mungo’s website here