Calderdale SmartMove continue to support homeless community

The homeless and vulnerably housed community have been noted as some of the most vulnerable people during the pandemic. This is due to the lack of or unsuitability of shelter and accomodation. Furthermore, many do not have the resources needed to safely self isolate and adhere to social distancing.

There are around 320,000 people registered as homeless in the UK, 135,000 of which are children. In 2018, 726 homeless people died, meaning that the number of deaths amongst homeless people has increased by 51% in the last six years.

However, local homeless charity Calderdale SmartMove have sworn to continue to support the homeless and vulnerably housed to the best of their ability, whilst minimising direct contact with clients. They are continuing to deliver food, hygiene products and emergency supplies to clients and providing remote support.

Calderdale SmartMove supports homeless and vulnerably housed people, by helping them find suitable accommodation. They also provide them with the support and resources they need in order to live independently. 96% of their service users are still in accommodation twelve months after receiving help.

Fundraising and Marketing Manager Beth Currie said: “Due to the present pandemic it is vital that we at Calderdale SmartMove look after our staff, volunteers and clients to the best of our capability.

“This means following government advice from the daily updates and evidencing social distancing. All of our services are now telephone based until further notice which means that the office is closed to visitors.

“Our phone lines are still open and we are continuing to support both new and existing clients. Due to obvious reasons, we have had to cancel all our group educational offerings at the present time, but again we are providing support remotely.

“We are still delivering food, hygiene products and other emergency supplies to our clients and this will continue until the situation improves. We wish everyone the very best of luck and good health”.

To tackle the impact of cancelled fundraising events, the charity has launched a Spring Raffle.

Tickets are £5 per strip and can be bought by clicking here and quoting the word ‘Spring’ with your donation.

Prizes include a top of the range digital camera, a touch screen landline phone a designer handbag.

“As key workers, Calderdale SmartMove will be continuing to provide support to the homeless and vulnerable members of the community, and we rely on fundraising to generate the £120,000.00 we need each year to carry out our vital work.

“Unfortunately, a number of large fundraising events have had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak and we are now looking at new ways to generate that necessary income. We have therefore launched the Spring Raffle with some fantastic prizes to be won.

“Our services are lifesaving for our clients and it is so important that we show them now, more than ever, that Calderdale cares and they are not forgotten.”