You power so many services for people facing homelessness

Last year, we helped 26,844 households through our national emergency helpline, and helped another 27,372 through web-chat conversations in England.

Our team of housing experts is there to help people at imminent risk of homelessness. Our advisers help people understand their rights and find the best way forward. Every single conversation can be the difference between someone losing or keeping their home.

Going to the local council for help can be an overwhelming experience, and often cases are easily dismissed. Our advisers help people prepare to negotiate their housing issues, and ensure they receive the support they're entitled to.

We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our clients. When needed, we get in touch with the council on their behalf, but sometimes just saying they’ve been talking to our adviser ensures their case is dealt with.

Our team of solicitors have unrivalled expertise in housing law. We challenge landlords who unlawfully evict people or allow their properties to fall into a dangerous state of disrepair. We also help fight repossession and attend court to defend people at risk of losing their home.

Our legal team takes on strategic cases, too. Winning one case in court can change thousands of lives. Recently, we won a landmark case to highlight the discriminatory practice of letting agents and landlords refusing potential tenants because they’re on housing benefit. Learn about how we’re changing the law and what more you can do to end ‘NO DSS’.

Our services help people find homes they can live in without fear of eviction – and we think it’s important that a home is a safe, comfortable place in which to live. Our shops provide families with Homestarter Kits, which include white goods and furniture, and our Do It Yourself (DIY) skills advisers help turn unfit accommodation into a proper home.

But finding a home can be a long journey. There are over a million people on waiting lists for social housing, and only a handful are built each year. We continue to lobby the government to make housing safe, available, and affordable.

Our Getting Real Opportunities of Work (GROW) programme is one example of a paid opportunity. It gives people with lived experience of homelessness a chance to use their experience in positive ways.

GROW trainees gain valuable skills while also using their experience to influence and shape services for the better. You can read Mia’s story of empowerment on our blog.

We give every person we work with the support that best suits their needs. Alongside trainee and mentorship programmes, we offer help with general life skills, such as CV workshops, interview practice, and budgeting, so they can find work and manage their tenancies independently.

You make sure no one has to face homelessness and bad housing on their own. You’re brilliant – thank you.