Wimbledon Foundation And Crisis Partner For Christmas Campaign
The Wimbledon Foundation has announced a new partnership with homelessness charity Crisis, as well as extending support for organisations addressing food poverty over the Christmas period.
The Foundation – which is the charitable arm of The AELTC and The Championships – has committed £270,000 to Crisis to fund six new roles for one year as the charity focuses on the urgent housing needs of people leaving temporary accommodation or made newly homeless as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the Foundation, Crisis’ housing-led approach will prioritise people having somewhere to stay as well as giving them additional support to help them remain there.
“Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, it has never been clearer why it’s important that everyone has a safe, secure home,” said Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive, Crisis.
“The Government’s ‘Everyone In’ scheme moved people into emergency accommodation so that they could safely isolate and we started to see how homelessness could be ended by providing people with somewhere to live and the tailored support they need.
“Thanks to partners like the Wimbledon Foundation, Crisis is now putting rapid rehousing at the heart of our services going forward and redoubling our efforts to rehome people as quickly as possible. With the stability and safety of a roof over their heads, and the support of a trusted coach, people will be able to take the steps they need to rebuild their lives and leave homelessness behind for good.”
The Foundation’s partnership with Crisis builds on its existing support of local homeless charities in the London boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth, including the Merton Winter Night Shelter and Glass Door in Wandsworth.
Multi-year grants enable four homelessness charities in Merton and Wandsworth to increase their organisational capacity and ensure they are better placed to support vulnerable people off the streets and towards healthy and positive futures.
The Foundation has also announced the extension of its funding to local food provision charities, Wimbledon and Wandsworth Foodbanks, City Harvest, and other organisations providing support to vulnerable people. The funding will run until at least the end of February.
Helen Parker, Head of the Wimbledon Foundation, said: “The coronavirus outbreak has magnified the problems that already existed for those without homes and continues to bring many more people to the brink of becoming homeless. Food poverty is also a continuing issue – The Trussell Trust which runs foodbanks nationally reported an 89% increase in demand between April 2019 and April 2020 with more than half of the people using foodbanks since the start of the pandemic doing so for the first time.
“In response to this, the Foundation is building on our support of homelessness and food provision services to support those most severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis, including over the challenging Christmas period.”
