Shelter - working to make a difference - "Stick it to bad housing!"

As a young woman I spent a whole year homeless and living rough on the streets - it's not a good place to be and the dangers that homeless people face are both immense and absolutely everywhere. Being homeless affects your health, your prospects, your self esteem, your ability to cope with all the little things in life that are important - it affects how you are viewed and how you can relate to others. Being homeless affects your ability to get work - so you are not able to earn money to live. Being homeless puts you at very high risk of those willing to prey on the vulnerable - the drug culture and sex industry are the obvious dangers but it goes much, much deeper than that and makes you vulnerable to violence and abuse - being homeless really hurts - it's a very frightening place to be - always. I was one of the lucky one's - I survived my time of living rough - but I took with me the knowledge of what it's like to be either invisible or to be an object of hatred - what it's like to be totally alone.

There are many, many people who find themselves in a similar vulnerable position, most often through absolutely no fault of their own, and that's where SHELTER comes in.

This years campaign is important and it needs everyone's support - "Stick it to bad housing"

Shelter will be at several festivals including the Leftfield at Glastonbury - so you have your chance to make a difference - add your support to the wall - every single person counts.

If you aren't going to be at Glastonbury, Bestival, The Secret Garden Party or Wychwood you can still support this major campaign by going to the Shelter site and adding your support there.

Add your name to the wall of shame and help change things for the future.

Of course being homeless isn't just about finding yourself in a position where you have no option but to live rough on the streets, being homeless also affects those who are in a number of other really bad housing situations such as

temporarily staying with friends or family
staying in a hostel or bed and breakfast
living in very overcrowded conditions
at risk of violence or abuse in your home
living in poor conditions that affect your health
living somewhere that you have no legal right to stay in (eg. a squat)
living somewhere that you can't afford to pay for without depriving yourself of basic essentials
forced to live apart from your family, or someone you would normally live with, because your accommodation isn't suitable.

Shelter is THE place where vulnerable homeless people can go to get help and advice, it's the place where people understand and it's the place that can help empower people. Shelter was set up in 1966 and this year marks 41 years of Shelter's pioneering campaigning to wake people up to the human cost of bad housing, Shelter is a vitally important charity, one that is often under rated until you discover how difficult the housing situation really is for so many people - ordinary people like you or I - people who deserve a chance.

Shelter works to combat homelessness in many different ways:

Political Campaigning - Shelter lobbies government and local authorities for new laws and policies. They make views known on draft bills and laws, as well as briefing ministers on the facts about homelessness and bad housing. Shelter also works to improve good practice at a local level, by demanding that local authorities and government agencies help people in housing need.

Public Campaigning - High-profile Shelter campaigns bring aspects of bad housing and homelessness to the attention of the public. Changing and informing public opinion is a vital part of their work. What they say is: "If you don't care, we can't continue our work. And if you don't see bad housing as a fundamental problem for this country, nor will the politicians."

Regional Campaigning - Over the last few years, the regional layer of government has gained more power and significance in the area of housing. So Shelter targets regional bodies, such as Regional Assemblies and Regional Housing Boards, to get them to tackle homelessness and bad housing in each region. They share learning from Shelter's research, good practice unit and services to influence how public money is spent and how key services are delivered in the regions. Shelter also go to freshers' fairs, summer festivals and other events to promote awareness of the housing crisis and engage people from all walks of life.

Shelter is a charity that deserves everyone's support - because the work they do matters and because being homeless could happen to YOU:
So this is a flavour of what Shelter does:
Shelter helps more than 170,000 people a year fight for their rights, get back on their feet and find and keep a home. They also tackle the root causes of Britain's housing crisis by campaigning for new laws, policies and solutions. Bad housing robs children of their health, education and a fair chance in life.

Know Your Rights
The 'Know your rights' web pages www.shelter.org.uk/knowyourrights provide people aged 16-25 with in-depth practical and legal advice online, as well as email advice. Where to live, how to pay for it, students, leaving care, staying on friends' sofas, landlord won't repair the heating, landlord has kept the deposit...this is the place to turn for those who do not know their rights or who to turn to when facing a housing crisis.

This year SHELTER will be at the festivals
Shelter is campaigning at 4 festivals this summer - Wychwood, Glastonbury, the Secret Garden Party and Bestival. Shelter will be at every festival with the Wall of Shame, a national protest that is touring the country in the run up to the festival. Shelter are calling on the Government to build an extra 20,000 social rented homes a year. Shelter are asking festival goers to help 'stick it to bad housing' by signing a brick and helping to turn the grey Wall of Shame into a red Wall of Hope by the end of the festival. For more info about Shelter at the festivals, please visit: http://england.shelter.org.uk/howtohelp/howtohelp-8093.cfm

Stick it to bad housing! go to the virtual wall and add your brick - support the work of Shelter - don't be complacent YOU might find you need them one day.