The homelessness charity Crisis is opening up festive shelters in major towns and cities across the UK, including not only worst-hit London but also Birmingham, Coventry, Newcastle, Edinburgh, South Wales and elsewhere.
Other charities, both nationwide and more locally-focused, are also stepping up relief patrols, setting up shelters and encouraging members of the public to donate either supplies or their time to help feed, clothe and shelter those in need as temperatures plummet this Christmas.
The relief efforts come amid mounting concerns about Britain’s homelessness problem, with soaring numbers of people sleeping rough - up by 169 per cent since 2010.
And the latest official figures suggest 726 people died while sleeping rough or in emergency accommodation last year - up 22 per cent on 2017, with the average ages being 45 for men and 43 for women.
Homelessness charity St Mungo’s, which has more than 300 local projects, 17 outreach teams and provides beds to more than 3,000 each night, will send out extra teams to either help those in need into their own centres or other temporary facilities provided by charities such as Crisis.
Petra Salva, director of rough sleeper services at St Mungo’s, said: ‘Christmas can be a time of mixed emotions for clients in our services and our staff work hard in our 300-plus projects to support those who stay with us over the holiday period.
‘For those out on the streets, the dramatic temperature drop over winter means that the harm and danger they face is increased.
‘I would encourage people not to simply walk on by but to take some positive action like contacting StreetLink to help connect someone with their local service as soon as possible - from there, specialist workers can help get people back into their own home for good.’
Crisis describes their Christmas centres as offering people in need ‘a chance to regain confidence and plan for their future, in a supportive environment, away from the immediate hardships of homelessness’.
They added: ‘At the nine centres across London we operate 24 services which includes advice and support with health, housing and employment, alongside practical help through services such as sewing, hairdressing and clothing.’
Last year more than 4,5000 people attended their Christmas centres across Britain.
Meanwhile, London-based organisation The Felix Project expects to deliver the equivalent of up to 1million meals to the capital’s most deprived and hungry families, while calling for volunteers and donors who can contribute more.
Other smaller-scale initiatives include the ‘Take One, Leave One’ scheme in London organised by Stefan Simanowitz after being inspired by a similar idea in Chicago two years ago.
He has left rails filled with coats, jackets, gloves, hats, scarves and blankets donated by well-wishers and available for anyone in need to take.
He first did so last Christmas, with a sign saying: ‘If you are cold? Take one. Like to help? Leave one.’
And the apparent success prompted him to do so again this year, initially in London’s Exmouth Market but spreading elsewhere with support from backers including British-based US comedian and actor Rob Delaney.
Latest figures from Shelter suggest 280,000 people are now recorded as homeless across England - a surge of 23,000, or nine per cent, since the charity’s first annual report three years ago.
One in every 200 people is now without a home - and almost 220,000 more people were threatened with losing a roof over their heads across the past 12 months.
Campaigners fear many more are ‘hidden homeless’, relying on so-called ‘sofa surfing’ or else sleeping rough but remaining undocumented by any official counts.
At least 4,677 people slept rough in England on a snapshot night in autumn 2018, 165 per cent higher than in 2010, while the number of people sleeping rough in the capital has leapt by 13 per cent since 2017.
Shelter’s new ‘This Is England’ study finds the problem at its most severe in London, with one in 52 people across the capital homeless - including one in 24 in the borough of Newham and one in 29 in both Haringey and in Kensington and Chelsea.
Also badly-hit are Luton (one in 46), Birmingham (one in 66), Brighton and Hove (one in 75) and Manchester (one in 102).
The charity’s emergency helpline received calls every 44 seconds this year, while its free webchat service was used almost 26,000 times.
Experts blame expensive rents, a shortage of social housing and benefits crackdowns for a surge in homelessness and rough sleeping across Britain in recent years - and Shelter warned the Conservative government’s election manifesto does not go far enough in proposing potential remedies.
Charities also urge people to help by calling Streetlink via its website or mobile phone app or by calling 03005000914 whenever they see someone sleeping rough, alerting council officials to the location.
Crisis has also been encouraging supporters to donate £28.87 so one homeless person can have a place at a Christmas centre, via www.crisis.org.uk/reserveaplace.
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