Borough homeless charity calls on PM and top ministers to join them and get up close and personal with problems

A BOROUGH-based homeless charity has reached out to new Prime Minister Andy Burnham and key cabinet members, hoping to build bridges and help the government achieve its newly stated aim of tackling homelessness.

The Friends of Essex and London Homeless have become a prominent force in helping people without a home, running support evenings in Charing Cross in London and Grays in Thurrock with a team of volunteers who have gained years of knowledge of all the problems and issues around homelessness.

The charity's founder, Steve Stuart, has written an open letter to Mr Burnham, inviting him to experience first hand the work the charity carries out.

The charity runs an outreach service in Grays every week, supporting homeless and disadvantaged people in Thurrock

Mr Stuart says: "Amid the headlines, political fanfare and Cabinet announcements surrounding the formation of the new Government, one commitment stood out to us above all others: the Prime Minister's instruction to begin the work of ending rough sleeping in our country.

"The Government has announced an urgent national drive to end rough sleeping at the earliest opportunity, supported by an additional £340 million in funding. We wholeheartedly welcome that ambition and sincerely hope it marks the beginning of real, lasting change.

"However, ending rough sleeping will require more than funding announcements, national strategies and conversations held within Westminster.

It will require listening to the people living through homelessness.
It will require listening to those working directly alongside them.
It will require those making the decisions to see the reality at the coalface.

"For almost ten years, Friends of Essex & London Homeless FOELH has provided direct, consistent frontline support to people experiencing homelessness, poverty, hunger and crisis.

"We are a small, independently run, non-funded and non-salaried charity. We do not have highly paid executives, professional lobbyists or large communications departments.

"What we do have is almost a decade of genuine frontline experience.

FOELH volunteers interacting and supporting the homeless in London.

"Every Wednesday evening, our volunteers operate an outreach service near Charing Cross only a short distance from Parliament and Downing Street.

"Every Friday, we provide outreach, food-bank assistance and wider support in Grays.

"We meet people sleeping in doorways, tents, cars, hostels and other unsafe or temporary situations.

"We support people facing addiction, declining mental health, family breakdown, unemployment and circumstances that can quickly spiral beyond their control.

"We also meet people who have secured employment, found accommodation or begun rebuilding their lives but who still require practical support, encouragement and someone who believes in them.

We know their names.
We know their faces.
We know their stories.
We see what works, and we see where systems continue to fail.

"We see the consequences when agencies do not communicate, when people are passed between services, when short-term interventions replace sustained support and when human beings become little more than figures on a spreadsheet.

"Successive governments have too often looked automatically towards the largest national and corporate charities when seeking advice.

"Those organisations undoubtedly play an important role, but smaller grassroots charities are frequently overlooked, despite being among those closest to the people affected.

"We believe that must change.

"We respectfully ask Mr Burnham's Government to ensure grassroots organisations are given a meaningful voice alongside national charities, councils, housing providers and statutory agencies.

"The people who quietly turn up every week, in every season and in every kind of weather, have knowledge and experience that should not be ignored.

"Policies designed to end rough sleeping will be stronger when shaped by those delivering support directly on the streets and, most importantly, by people who have experienced homelessness themselves.

Kindness is contagious. FOELH founders Steven and Cheryl Stuart.

"We are therefore extending a formal and heartfelt invitation to Mr Burnham, Angela Rayner (Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government) and Alison McGovern (Minister of State for Local Government and Homelessness), either individually or together, to visit our Charing Cross outreach.

Come and stand alongside our volunteers.
Come and speak directly to the people using our service.
Come and listen without barriers, briefings or carefully prepared presentations.
Come and see what is happening only minutes away from the corridors of power.
We do not seek recognition, reward, funding or political favour.
We are simply asking for the opportunity to contribute.

"We want the Government's ambition to succeed because behind every rough-sleeping statistic is a human being — someone's son, daughter, mother, father, brother, sister or friend.

"Everyone has a story. We just need to take the time to listen.

"Andy Burnham has been widely described as a man of the people. This is an opportunity for the new Government to demonstrate what that truly means not only by listening to the largest and loudest organisations, but also by engaging with smaller grassroots charities that have been quietly doing the work for years.

"Prime Minister, Secretary of State and Minister: our door is open. Our volunteers are ready.

Our Charing Cross outreach is operating every Wednesday evening on Westminster's doorstep.

"Please regard this open letter as a formal invitation to visit us, meet our volunteers, speak with those we support and begin a meaningful conversation about how grassroots organisations can help shape the national response to homelessness.

"If this Government is serious about ending rough sleeping, we are serious about helping.

"Let this be the moment when the voices from the coalface are finally invited to the table.

"We are here. We are ready. We would welcome the opportunity to work with you.

"Please help us ensure this message is heard. We would be grateful if you could share this open letter with your communities, friends, families and wider networks.

"Kindness is contagious. Imagine the difference we could make if everyone became just five per cent kinder.

Thurrock Nub News has followed and featured Friends of Essex and London Homeless since our launch in 2018.