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Read moreGoGetFunding campaigns have been able to help the homeless in a variety of ways. This article highlights some beautiful examples!
Homelessness can affect anybody, in any part of the world. Over the last few years numbers of homeless people have risen dramatically. In England, 59,110 are considered homeless. In South Korea, 11,000 people are estimated to be homeless. In America, on any given night 553,700 people are homeless. You can find a comprehensive global list of homelessness statistics here.
Being homeless means that you have no regular, safe place to live. Being homeless can mean living on the streets, living in a shelter or sleeping on a friend’s sofa, for example. Not having somewhere to call home can have a huge impact on both physical and mental health.
On average homeless people die at 44 years old, and are nine times more likely to die by suicide than those who have homes. Being homeless can also be very dangerous in other ways, putting you in frightening situations and making you highly vulnerable. Homeless people are 17 times more likely to be victims of violence or crime.
This all sounds really dire, but thankfully there are people in the world who are trying to change things and be there for those who are vulnerable. Charities, individuals and organizations all across the world try to help homeless people get back on their feet and start again. Often these organizations are funded solely by donations and are run by volunteers.
Crowdfunding can be a vital resource to allow these amazing people to continue their life-changing work. So much amazing work is being done by people using GoGetFunding campaigns to help the homeless, from people asking for help to get back on their feet to wonderfully compassionate human beings going out of their way to make the world a better place.
This campaign was run by a group of people who provide crisis services to a wide range of people in need. They help to run and fund homeless shelters so that people have somewhere warm and safe to stay. When there is no room in shelters, they don’t turn people away. Instead they help people to find temporary accommodation until they can help them get into a shelter or find appropriate housing. As well as providing shelter, they provide warm meals for those who need them, help people to access health care, aid the homeless with addiction and rehabilitation, and help them to get access to benefits and financial help.
They help to run many projects, three of which include:
Their campaign to raise funds for the amazing work they do was successful, meeting their target at 100%. GoGetFunding was able to be a part of something so special, enabling people to continue on their dedicated, hard working journey to make the work a better place.
A supportive son wanted to help his mother start a new chapter and have a safe place to live in Brazil. After 27 years of domestic abuse, this strong, brave woman was ready to break free from a cycle of abuse and find the life which she truly deserves.
Domestic abuse is much more common than many of us are aware, with over 1.3 million women experiencing a form of domestic abuse. Men can suffer too, although it’s more commonly reported from women. It can be a vicious, terrifying cycle to break free from, and can often take people a long time to be able to find a way to get to safety.
This woman’s son decided to help his mother start afresh, funding a lot of the costs himself with pure determination to get his mother to a safe place. He set up a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to help pay for her new accommodation, which he couldn’t afford himself. Their campaign was extremely successful, surpassing their target at 348%!
Meanwhile, this young person in Lithuania was kicked out of an abusive home and needed to find money to keep a roof over their head. They turned to our site and were able to raise the money they needed to afford rent and food to help them get started, with a successful campaign at 142%.
A soup kitchen in London, UK started up an ongoing campaign to meet their running costs. Run solely by volunteers, since 2013 this amazing community service has been providing hot meals twice a day to the homeless and others in the community who need access to food. As well as hot meals, the soup kitchen runs a food bank, a clothing bank, offers legal advice and access to computers.
The soup kitchen is run and founded by two amazing people, Solomon Smith and Mahamed Hashi, along with other volunteers who make their work possible. Solomon started helping the homeless when he was just 11, handing out extra food which his mother had cooked at home to those who needed it on his way to school! Seeing the poverty around him and the hard times others were facing, this truly amazing human being set out on a journey to start supporting others even more as soon as he was able.
When he started the soup kitchen, Solomon funded everything himself from his own wages. Now the kitchen runs on donations and the kindness of the community who get involved to keep things running. As many as 80 people are fed per day, who otherwise wouldn’t have a warm meal or the community support provided by this project. Their amazing work has not gone unnoticed, not only by those whose lives they are changing every single day, but also by the media. The BBC featured Solomon and his soup kitchen on a series called ‘Amazing Humans’.
Solomon turned to GoGetFunding to help him with repairs in the kitchen and the rising costs of running his soup kitchen as the demand sadly rose. So far our crowdfunding site has been able to help Solomon raise over £40,000! Their transformative work continues, as does their campaign.
On any single night, 37,085 veterans are homeless in America. With 4,000 veterans estimated to be homeless in London in the UK each night, imagine how many veterans are sleeping homeless all across the world! These are people who have served their country, many having put their lives on the line, yet have little to no support to reintegrate into society when they return to civilian life. Many veterans struggle with mental illness such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) which can make it hard for them to get a handle on the day to day requirements of life once they return home.
Thankfully, these numbers are starting to change. More work is being done and more help being put in place. Charities do some excellent work to help veterans get back on their feet. A woman who had been in the services herself wanted to help others who were struggling. She started an ongoing campaign to buy food, toiletries, clothes and other supplies to share with her local Veterans Outreach Centre. So far her campaign has raised over $2,000!
In London, UK, a man called Mark Roberts had been trying to help the homeless for years, offering free haircuts and emotional support. He volunteered for many charities before realising he wanted to start a project of his own. ‘Homeless not Hopeless’ was born.
Mark and his volunteers go into London and provide food, clothes, blankets and toiletries to the homeless. They offer haircuts and a hand of friendship. They try to break down the stigma around homelessness and raise awareness. When their funding allows, they pay for nights in hostels or hotels to allow the homeless a break from sleeping rough. Their amazing work is all funded by donations, out of their own pocket and run by volunteers. They set up an ongoing campaign to help them fund their work and to hopefully enable them to expand their services.
This heart warming story inspired thousands to reciprocate a beautiful act of kindness. A homeless man named Robbie had offered a student his last £3 so she could safely take a taxi home as she lost her bank card on a night out. She refused the cash but she was so touched by his kindness she started raising money to help get Robbie off the streets. A whopping £32,559 was raised and donated to Preston homelessness charity The Foxton Centre who will use the funds to house people who have been sleeping rough for a long time.
These are just a small portion of people utilizing crowdfunding to enable them to do amazing work to help others, or to start living the life that they personally deserve. Fundraising online gives others the opportunity to get involved in worthwhile causes, taking part in making the world a better place one little but highly important step at a time.
If you want to get involved and start a campaign of your own today, you can click here to launch your campaign! It’s quick and simple to set up. You can raise money for any cause, and with GoGetFunding, you get your own personal fundraising coach to guide you! Happy fundraising!
References
Homeless World Cup Foundation, (2020), “Global Homelessness Statistics”.
Crisis, (2020), “About homelessness”.
The Salvation Army, (2020), “Lifehouses (supported housing)”.
Country Haven Women’s Aid, (2020), “Who we are”.
Valley House, (2020), “Introducing Valley House”.
Women’s Aid, (2019), “How common is domestic abuse?”
National Alliance to End Homelessness, (2019), “Veterans”.
The Royal British Legion: “Literature Review: UK
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