#MentalMovement X Brixton Soup Kitchen Launch Christmas Campaign

Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny – C.S Lewis 

Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, homelessness in London has reached an all time high. The latest figures from homeless charity Shelter suggest the UK’s homelessness has now reached over 225,000 people.

Homelessness has typically always been suggested as the description above. A person living without a roof over one’s head, on the streets and sleeping rough. Today homelessness is so much more than this. Today, homelessness can be hidden making the true gravity of homelessness invisible to the public eye. A vast majority of homeless people are now sleeping on the sofa’s or floors of friends and family, in bed and breakfasts and squats making it extremely difficult to accurately estimate the true scope of homelessness in the UK today.

Many of us go about our daily lives passing the homeless on the streets with thoughts of how they may have ended up there. We wonder their stories asking ourselves what childhood might have been like for them? Were they once happy, in love, with a home and a family? Some of us will smile and walk by and some of us will stop, chat, offer a coffee and spare some change. We might leave with a deep feeling of sadness in our hearts but quickly continue on worrying about our own little lives not really appreciating the fact that homelessness could happen to any one of us.

Relationship breakdowns, alcohol and substance addictions, domestic abuse, redundancy and poor mental health are just some of the reasons why people end up homeless.

At #MentalMovement we care deeply about people dealing with poor mental health. We support one another through a blog post, an email or a tweet. We have a support network and help ourselves whilst helping others by writing insightful, inspiring and informative posts in the hope to redefine how you see Mental Health. We all deal with the lows and the highs, the social isolation, the mental pain, anxiety and paranoia that comes with the territory but we are all lucky enough to have each other, our family, friends and our homes.

Homelessness and mental health often go hand in hand, and can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Having a mental health problem can create the circumstances which can cause a person to become homeless in the first place, or exacerbate an existing condition.

That’s why this Christmas we have decided to focus our energy on creating wellbeing care packages for the homeless in our Pack it Up, Pack it In campaign in conjunction with Brixton Soup Kitchen who provide food and support to vulnerable people in Brixton.

Anyone can get involved (so get all of your friends and family on board too) and all you have to do is gather up some of the items from the list below and take/send them over to your local homeless charity. If you are based in the London area, #MentalMovement will be rounding up all care packages and delivering them to Brixton Soup Kitchen in time for Christmas and the New Year.

So, here are the list of items that could be included in your care packages. Please find a large plastic zip lock bag to place your items in and we will wrap them in our office and label them all accordingly.

Please do not include any sharp items, items containing alcohol such as mouthwash and hand sanitiser or anything that could cause harm to a vulnerable homeless person.

• Travel coffee mugs
• Socks, hat, gloves, thermals
• Plasters
• Beef Jerky
• Lavender Spray
• Nuts, crackers, dried fruit, granola bars, breakfast bars, instant noodles
• Lip balm, toothpaste, toothbrush, washcloth, deodorant, comb, brush
• Hats, gloves, heat packs, bottles of water
• Hand wipes, wet wipes, pack of tissues
• Mints, cough drops or gum
• Notepad, pen
• Uplifting words of encouragement, heartfelt inspiring letter
• Minutes/Pre-paid phone card
• Pre-paid Oyster Card
• Gift Cards for clothing stores such as Primark
• Pet food
• Chocolate
• Pack of cards, box of chalks
• Fleece blanket, poncho, rucksack, banana bag

Tweet us/Tag us @MentalMovement @BrixtSoupKitchen or use the hashtag #PackItUpPackItIn to let us know what items you are including in your care packages and how you are getting people involved!

If a care package isn’t the way you want to help the homeless this christmas then please consider signing one of the following petitions or donating to some of the incredible charities fighting to end the homelessness crisis.

Shelter

Every two minutes someone faces losing their home. Support Shelter’s campaign to save the strong housing safety net we all need. Click here to sign the petition to call on the Government to save the housing safety net:

• Make sure the temporary support you would receive if you lost your job reflects housing costs — so you wouldn’t have to move to a different town.
• Keep rules meaning your council has to find you a stable and secure place to live if you lose your home.
• Keep legal support available if you can’t afford a lawyer.

St Mungos

Click here campaign with St Mungo’s or donate.

Crisis

Click here to donate £22.32 to reserve a place for a homeless person this christmas. Your £22.32 will provide the following

• Welcoming support from people who really care
• A chance to shower, freshen up and get clean clothes
• Three nutritious hot meals including Christmas dinner
• A health check and treatment from a doctor, optician and dentist
• An introduction to Crisis’ year-round services for training and support for the future

Centrepoint

Donate £12 per month to sponsor a room here. Your £12.00  will help Centrepoint provide a warm, safe room in one of their hostels.

Brixton Soup Kitchen 

Support the incredible work behind Brixton Soup Kitchen by clicking this link to donate from as little as £1.00!

Please share this post with as many people as you can and feel free to use our images to further spread the campaign and message behind it.