Together we can help homeless
£150,000 target for our annual appeal with Julian House
Today the Bath Chronicle is launching its annual appeal with Julian House to help the city’s homeless. Each year we team up with the charity to raise money and awareness for those living on the streets during Christmas. This year there has been a significant increase in the number of people homeless and sleeping on the streets. This has led to a demand for more support to the services that Julian House provides. Cecil Weir, fundraising director at Julian House, explained why it is important to support the appeal. “Demand is increasing. There has been a pattern since 2012, the number of rough sleepers and people who are statutory homeless and on the streets has been on the increase,” he said. “It’s ironic while the country has been cutting back on spending because of austerity, for our services, not just homeless but more generally, the funding is going down and demand is going up. “In a first world country we shouldn’t have a situation where there are people sleeping rough on the streets. Not just in Bath but nationwide, rough sleeping has been on the rise.” The Christmas Appeal is the biggest single fundraising initiative Julian House carries out. Last year it exceeded its target of £120,000 and is aiming for £150,000 this Christmas. Cecil said: “It’s not just about the winter months, homelessness is a 365-day problem. Money we receive now will be funding ser- vices right through to December next year.” “We’ve got to support them and help them with issues which have put them there in the first place. “To do all that costs money so Christmas Appeal income is really important to our housing projects. We have to do a lot of other things to help our clients too. It’s not about a hand out, it’s about a hand up.” The charity provides a range of services to socially excluded people in Bath and North East Somerset. One of these is a shelter in Bath that provides 20 beds for rough sleepers. These beds are basic but warm and safe and give people short-term respite from their plight. There are another ten bedrooms at another city centre location. During winter this accommodation is at capacity. This year they are also being supported by a government funded organisation called Safesleep which operates in the basement of Manvers Street Baptist Church and provides them with 20 extra beds for the colder months. Julian House also supports rough sleepers to get off the streets and into recovery and/or supported housing. To support the appeal you can fill in a Christmas Appeal slip, right, and send to Julian House, donate to their Justgiving page – www.justgiving.com/julianhouse/donate or ring 01225 354650. You can also help the homeless this Christmas by being an extra pair of eyes for Julian House. If you see someone on the street who needs help please call Streetlink on 0300 500 0914.