Dear Supporter,
Urgent Help Needed: Our Christmas Appeal has launched, please help!
We’re all looking forward to Christmas. For me it’s a time to reconnect with family and friends, to share presents and good cheer. I’m fortunate to have a warm and comfortable home where I can share the joy and happiness of the season and indulge in the season’s excess.
So this appeal is made with a heavy heart. The cost-of-living crisis is becoming a housing crisis as tenants in insecure accommodation find it’s not a choice between eating or heating; they find they can no longer afford the rent either.
At Bromley Homeless we’re helping people to cope with the trauma of homelessness. I take this opportunity to thank the staff and volunteers who have provided empathy, care and support throughout the year. You can see this in our Year in Numbers, which highlights what we have been able to achieve, made possible only with the benefit of your donations. I also have the pleasure of including an in-depth article describing A Day with Bromley Homeless where one of the trustees took the opportunity to interview staff and to see the great work that’s being done week-in, week-out at the day surgery.
We’re already working hard to support those in our community who need a place to sleep over the Christmas Break, because homelessness doesn’t stop over Christmas, and we need your donations to do that. I know everyone’s finances are stretched at the moment but please consider whether you can help us. Just click the ‘Donate’ button on our website: bromleyhomeless.org. Anything you can give will help someone in need. We’re a small charity and we don’t advertise so 97.9p out of every £1 you give is spent on helping people in our community.
Some of our supporters have even asked friends and family to donate to us instead of buying them a Christmas gift this year. Either a one-off donation or a regular donation of just a couple of pounds a month would make a huge difference, allowing us to give the gift of Christmas to those in need this winter; and please make sure you add Gift Aid, which increases your donations courtesy of HMRC.
If you can’t donate, we also urgently need volunteers to help with things like batch cooking meals at home for us to distribute, or serving meals to those we support over the winter months. It’s easy to register to be a volunteer by emailing us at volunteers@bromleyhomeless.org and even just an hour a week can make a huge difference.
Thank-you for your time in reading this; you may have heard in the news that with the increase in interest rates, landlords are raising rents to maintain profit margins at renters’ expense. Rents are at an all-time high and many families are finding it impossible to find a new tenancy if they are served a section 21 notice or an unreasonable increase in rent.
Life is not getting easier for our clients, and I welcome your support.
Yours faithfully
Julia Poulter
Chair of Trustees, Bromley Homeless