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10 October, 2022
Chief Executive Blog

It’s World Homeless Day

It is World Homeless Day today – a day which brings to focus the issues of homelessness and inadequate housing. And we all know just how tough it’s getting out there for everyone.

Every 11 minutes one person loses their home in London. It’s a shocking statistic that was released in December last year.  I can only imagine what the figure looks like now.  For so many people in Newham, the fear of homelessness lives with them on a daily basis.

I appreciate that’s grim reading, but it’s important to recognise these facts on World Homeless Day.  Only then can we work together, as we did over lockdown with the ‘Everyone In’ scheme.

We are dedicated to playing our part and serving our community. And to help drive us forward and bring renewed focus to our mission, we have made the decision to change our name.

We have been guided by your voices: our residents, team members, supporters and partners.  We have listen to you and later this month you will see your feedback come to life and breathe new energy into our charity.

We are moving forward with a new name, but our mission “to build hope, enable lasting change and end homelessness for people in east London” remains the same. Our bold new identity will allow us to make an even bigger impact and build more support so that we can continue to solve homelessness one person at a time.

One size fits all doesn’t work

Homelessness happens one person at a time, with every individual having their own unique story.  As such, it needs to be solved one person at a time, providing each with a holistic programme of support that directly meets their needs, a nurturing space to grow and an accepting community around them.

Homeless not hopeless

There are many unexpected reasons why people lose their homes, but unfortunately, common misperceptions continue to alienate people. We hear a lot of the time that “Homelessness is a choice” or “It’s their fault”. To solve this problem, we will continue to challenge these stigmatising perceptions with a positive compassionate mindset.

We are a place for people to grow and begin again

For every individual that walks through our doors, it is our mission to ensure that they feel included and welcomed so that they can work on their self-development. I want every resident here to have a sense of belonging. The aim is for them to rebuild their self-belief and rediscover their connection to the wider world. All residents here can lift themselves out of homelessness; we are here to give them the hand up that they deserve.

A sneak preview of changes to come

I hope you can join me at 1pm on Thursday 13 October online, when I will be revealing our new name and identity.  Register here to join “Caritas Anchor House: New Name. Same Mission.”

Amanda Dubarry, Chief Executive of Caritas Anchor House 

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