This Christmas we worked with over 6,600 people through our day centres and hotels in London, and Crisis Skylight centres across Britain. This support was made possible by our supporters, partners, and an incredible team of over 3,590 volunteers, who came together to provide a lifeline to those facing homelessness over the festive period.
During the last quarter, 38 Berkeley Group staff volunteered in our warehouse and Christmas centres/hotels! In December, 13 people also participated in our Santa run, raising over £1,500.
This year, we provided hotel accommodation for 578 people who would otherwise have been sleeping rough across London. Providing people with the safety and comfort of their own hotel room, alongside specialist and personalised support, is a dignified and proven approach that can, and does, change lives. Working with our partners in the sector, we extended provision in one of our hotels until mid-January and provided rooms for 196 people over four weeks. This gave vital extra time for people who would otherwise be sleeping rough to get dedicated advice and support during one of the coldest months.
Our day centres in London provided 2,648 people with warmth, food, advice and dedicated support. We have also been able to provide ongoing support and advice, health and wellbeing services and food to 3,460 people across England, Wales and Scotland through our Crisis Skylight centres. Through specialist one-to-one advice, and support with housing, employment and wellbeing, we help people start their life beyond homelessness.
This wouldn’t have been possible without our supporters like the Berkeley Group, who helped us make sure that people facing homelessness got the support they needed this Christmas.
Some lovely staff volunteer feedback from Christmas 2023 includes:
"My day volunteering with Crisis was a really rewarding experience. It was really good to see the different services that Crisis set up for their clients and the take up on each showed how important and valuable these services are. It’s not just somewhere you can get some food and sleep, it was a one stop shop to try and help get people back on their feet, it was a really eye-opening day." - Emily
"It was a really enriching experience helping Crisis for Christmas, the amount of effort and work the staff and volunteers put into supporting the homeless by offering them shelter, food, warm showers and clothes in the cold months is crucial for them and to have a safe space they can relax. I will definitely be doing this next year!" - Miriam
"I had a wonderful day working at Crisis. It was so humbling to spend even a short period of time with the people that Crisis support and to make a tiny difference to their lives. I’d thoroughly recommend volunteering with Crisis and I will do so again in the future. The day certainly put any issues with my life into perspective and served to powerfully reinforce why we need to deliver so much more housing of all tenures across London and the home counties." - Adrian
"It is always a humbling and rewarding experience volunteering for Crisis at Christmas. Supporting their guests help challenge societies perception and misconception of what a homeless person will look like. These opportunities also help spread understanding of what may cause homelessness and how society can help. I particularly enjoyed engaging with guests and listening to their stories, some made me giggle, others really brought home how lucky I am to currently have a roof over my head. I would highly recommend everyone to take the opportunity to volunteer." - Cristyn
"Volunteering for Crisis at Christmas was a wonderful experience, , I was a little nervous about what to expect but I was amazed by the work they do, it was very well organised & they had so many things to offer guests. It was also lovely to spend the day with so many kind and friendly volunteers. I will definitely be giving my time to Crisis again." - Tamera