A Christmas appeal is raising cash to support “hundreds of homeless young people” in King’s Cross and the surrounding area over the festive period.
ADot, a not-for-profit organisation that help fund charities, is running its #ShedLight to campaign to raise £10,000 for New Horizon Youth Centre, in Chalton Street – and it has released a short film to highlight the issues faced by the homeless community.
New Horizon supports vulnerable 16-21 year olds: providing food, showers and laundry; as well as helping them find accommodation, training and employment.
Phil Kerry, CEO of New Horizon Youth Centre said:“With temperatures dropping it is a grim time for many homeless young people we support, their loneliness becoming all the more apparent, and their need for support more urgent.
“This winter the daycentre will be supporting hundreds of homeless young people in exactly this situation.
“We hope you have a good Christmas and with your help we can ensure that the community of young people we support have one too.”
Channel 4 anchor Jon Snow, a patron of New Horizon, said: “For over 50 years New Horizon Youth Centre has been a force for transforming the lives of vulnerable and homeless young people across London and now helps over 2000 individuals every year,
“We are so grateful to ADot Foundation for choosing to support this vital work for those most in need and would ask people to give whatever they can afford - we value every gift no matter the size.”
A recent street count in Islington, which was organised by the council to provide a “snap shot” of the borough’s street homeless population, found there to be 43 people sleeping rough. But this didn’t account for those staying in hostels or the rising number of people sleeping on public transport.
Outreach teams conducted a count in Camden on the same night but this data hasn’t been released yet.
The latest Shelter statistics estimate to be 320,000 homeless people in England, a rise of four per cent on last year. And in 2017-2018 103,000 young people presented themselves told their council they were either homeless or at risk this year.
To donate £5 text: NHYC001 to 70970 or click here: bit.ly/2DPP1Vu
To donate £10 text: NHYC001 to 70191
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