You can stand with families like Ethan's

The end of the school day is a moment so many children look forward to. The bell rings and they rush out of class to get home.

But for nearly 140,000 children in England, school is an escape from the tough reality of being homeless. It's a place where – for a few hours each day – they feel warm. Safe, settled, protected from dangerous mould. Free from worries about rodents or lice.

It's not home time for children facing homelessness.

'My mum tried setting up an area for me to do school work, but it wasn't really that much. It was a desk that we also used to cook and everything on.' – Ethan

Ethan and his Mum Sireena were forced to move into temporary accommodation by the council – where they stayed for the next six years. Ethan was just 11 years old.

Shelter research shows that half of teachers in England work at a school with children who are homeless or who have become homeless in the last year. And 87% of these teachers said that children have come to school hungry because temporary accommodation often has only basic kitchen facilities or none at all.

How do we expect children to thrive at school without a safe place to call home?

Ethan, now 17 and settled in a safe, permanent home, is passionate about sharing his experiences. He's supporting Shelter's work to put pressure on the government to build more social homes.

17-year-old Ethan sits on a sofa with his small dog next to him

We exist to defend the right to a safe home, because home is everything. The fight to end the housing emergency starts here.

How we help

We campaign tirelessly to fight the devastating impact the housing emergency has on people and society. And we give support and advice to millions of people facing homelessness or experiencing unfit and unsafe housing.

Last year:

15,975 households received support from our emergency helpline
12,203 households came to our local hubs for support
12,900 households who sought help saw a positive change in their housing situation

How you fuel the fight for home

We couldn't do this without you. For every £1 you donate:

79p is spent directly on helping people through advice, support and campaigning
21p is spent on fundraising

Pie chart showing that 79% of donations is spent directly on helping people and 21% is spent on fundraising.

Need help with your donation?

Get in touch

Email info@shelter.org.uk
Call 0300 330 1234 Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm, excluding bank holidays (calls cost less than local rate).

See our supporter FAQs

Other ways to donate

* Your donation won't be restricted to a single project but will be used wherever it's needed most to help those fighting for their right to a safe home.