We’re matching all December donations for local charity Hackney Night Shelter

Hackney Night Shelter has provided temporary accommodation and support to men and women across the borough of Hackney since 1996, helping individuals to find a lasting route out of homelessness. 

We’re doubling all December donations

As a Hackney-based business, we’re supporting the Hackney Night Shelter Christmas fundraising appeal by matching all donations made this December* up to a value of £25,000. This means all donations will be doubled, giving our local charity the best possible chance of reaching their goal of £50,000 before Christmas.

HACKNEY NIGHT SHELTER’S COMMUNAL KITCHEN

What’s the fundraising for?

Hackney Night Shelter’s Christmas fundraising appeal is crucial, as the funds are needed to help them move to an alternative, larger premises, after having to leave their current location by January. To support this great cause, donations can be made via Hackney Night Shelter’s JustGiving page - and any amount will be doubled by us.

Give back to your community through free tickets for homeless

In addition to doubling-donations, we’re encouraging all of our local event organisers to gift a ticket to someone struggling with homelessness in London. Attending an event is something that people struggling with homelessness rarely get the privilege of experiencing. But the power that culture, music and community can give an individual is immeasurable. 

If you’re a London-based Event Organizer selling stickers online with Ticket Tailor, and you want to give a free ticket to the Hackney Night Shelter to gift to one of their residents, please reach out to [email protected]

Why is Ticket Tailor supporting Hackney Night Shelter?

Jonny White, Founder and CEO of Ticket Tailor comments, “Ticket Tailor is much more than a low-cost solution for event organisers to sell tickets online. Giving back and supporting our community has been part of our DNA since day one. We donate 1p for every ticket sold to climate charities, and are a proud certified B Corp, but we also feel very strongly about supporting local charities when they are particularly in need.”

He adds, “Now more than ever, with the cost-of-living crisis adding extra strain on homeless shelters, it’s a cause that’s not only right on our doorstep, but is one that’s close to the hearts of our team. We feel by matching all donations this December it’ll help encourage more people to give what they can to support this important cause. The team and volunteers at Hackney Night Shelter work tirelessly to support people in need, and we are in awe of their dedication to the community.”

HACKNEY NIGHT SHELTER PROVIDES MORE THAN A BED AND A HOT MEAL — THEY GIVE ALL GUESTS THE CARE AND SUPPORT NEEDED TO FIND A ROUTE OUT OF HOMELESSNESS

The current accommodation crisis and how fundraising helps

Mark Palframan, Director of Hackney Doorways, on the increasing demand for temporary housing, “We have experienced a dramatic increase in the need for our services and have had to close our waiting lists. In the last three months there has been a 24% increase in the number of homeless people sleeping rough in London. With the cost-of-living crisis now affecting more regular folks, we are seeing an increasing number of people in full time employment who can no longer afford private rented accommodation**.”

He goes on to say, “Thanks to Ticket Tailor's generous offer to double all donations made to our Christmas appeal, our target of £50,000 now seems much more achievable. It’s a huge relief given the need to re-house our guests and move the shelter to alternative premises by January 2023. At the new shelter we will be able to double the number of beds we can provide to those in need, so we’ll be able to have an even greater impact on the community thanks to everyone’s support.”

More about Hackney Night Shelter

Hackney Night Shelters mission is to provide routes out of homlessness for people in need in Hackney. They have been working with the community to provide shelter and support to homeless guests since 1996. And in the course of a year they provide emergency shelter and move-on support for over 100 individual homeless people. Hackney Night Shelter works closely with a wide range of local frontline agencies who refer homeless - or potentially homeless - guests into their shelter providing emergency accommodation for twenty people each night. As they are primarily run by volunteers they only accept guests with low or no support needs. They offer an initial stay of 28 nights - reviewing it after that and usually extending it up to three months while their longer term housing is arranged. Hackney Night Shelter is pleased that almost all of their guests (95%) now have positive move-on’s into stable accommodation.

They have been running night shelters for over 25 years but have undergone some significant developments in the last three years. In response to the needs of homeless women they opened a separate women’s shelter in a large house which they rent off a local church and are now accommodating seven women per night. Recognising that homelessness is not just an issue for the winter they are now open all year round. Their most significant development however has been a move away from the previous model of rotating the shelter at different churches on different nights of the week and moving to a static shelter. They managed to negotiate a free lease on some former council offices during the pandemic – providing single room accommodation for guests. This now enables guests to retain their employment as they can shower, leave their stuff and have a safe place to sleep every night. Taking feedback from guests' meetings and exit interviews, Hackney Night Shelter has developed excellent partnerships with a range of other local agencies who provide immigration advice, housing support, health services and so on. They no longer offer just brief respite for homeless people and are successfully providing sustainable routes out of homelessness.

Hackney Night Shelters current premises, where they have been for just over two years, are about to be demolished (January 2023). The council have just offered them another suite of former offices to use until later in 2023 and thereafter have spoken of a ‘pipeline’ of potential buildings which are due for refurbishment and would be temporarily available. Whilst they would ideally like their own permanent premises it is nevertheless a good use of such buildings that would otherwise be left empty. 

How can you help?

Visit hwns.org.uk for more information. Or to donate to their Christmas fundraising campaign today, go to: justgiving.com/campaign/HNSCHRISTMASAPPEAL - and we’ll double what you give.

* Ticket Tailor will be matching all donations made to Hackney Night Shelter’s Christmas Appeal beginning December 1st up to a maximum of £25,000 at which point the £50,000 target will be reached. Any donations beyond this value will not be matched.

**39% of Hackney Night Shelters recent guests are in this category of people who can no longer afford private rented accommodation, including people working in retail, hospitality, construction and security. Currently 10% of their guests are refugees who have been granted asylum but still need a place to stay while they sort out their benefits and accommodation and look for work. They also always have guests who have been living in London for decades but are waiting for ID or documentation from the Home Office to clarify their status.