• Cash windfall donated to homeless charities

Cash windfall donated to homeless charities

"Charities like Action Homeless do a fantastic job, particularly in the winter months, so we are humbled to support them in everything they are doing at this time of year."

Laura Morgan, emh homes Head of Housing & Neighbourhoods

smita patel mark grant laura morgan 800

Social housing landlord emh homes has donated a windfall of thousands of pounds to two local homeless charities.

Head of Housing & Neighbourhoods Laura Morgan and Housing Officer Smita Patel visited the Leicester offices of Action Homeless, which provides emergency housing and specialist support to over 400 people a year in the city, to present CEO Mark Grant with a cheque for over £2,000.

“Homelessness is having a devastating effect on the lives of people in our communities,” says Laura. “We are seeing record numbers needing the services of charities like Action Homeless. They do a fantastic job, particularly in the winter months when people struggle to stay safe and escape the cold, so we are humbled to support them in everything they are doing at this time of year.”

There are over 320,000 homeless people in the UK, and almost 5,000 people sleeping rough on our streets every night. In 2018 there were 726 deaths of homeless people in England and Wales, an increase of 22 per cent on the previous year. Many more thousands are at risk of becoming homeless.

The landlord received the windfall of £4,300 from EEM after using its procurement framework to secure contracts for flooring and air source heat pumps. The not-for-profit EEM distributes its operating surplus in the form of community donations, which are split proportionally based on spending through their members, and which are then passed on to projects which benefit the local community.

The other half of the windfall was donated to the Long Eaton-based Canaan Trust, which provides supported accommodation for homeless men in Erewash.