Hundreds of people are joining us in our mission to end homelessness in Nottingham. How can you show your support for Emmanuel House?

We wouldn’t be able to support people in the same way if it wasn’t for the generosity of our community. As our community continues to grow, we’re able to help even more people who are struggling with homelessness. In the last financial year, there were 4252 visits to the support centre, compared to 2892 in the previous year.  

In October of this year, the number of people seen rough sleeping in Nottingham was the highest ever in recent times. You will have noticed the increase in people sleeping in doorways and we must not forget the many people hidden from view, sofa surfing with friends, living in hotel rooms with children, sleeping in cars to avoid losing work. There is also an affordable housing crisis. Mixed together, the data indicates a perfect storm, but regardless of how bad the circumstances are, we need to keep fighting homelessness so that it does not escalate and draw even more people into trauma and misery. We are only ever going to be able to do that in partnership with the community.

Nobody in Britain should be living in a tent or on the streets. It is not a lifestyle choice. It is unacceptable that homelessness exists at all, but Emmanuel House continues to welcome people without judgement and aid recovery from the trauma of rough sleeping and homelessness, which can cause decline in mental and physical health.

“You really made a difference through really difficult times. And I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. My home is starting to feel like one.”

This winter, help us:

• Advocate for people who are struggling
• Support people with their mental health
• Restore dignity
• Provide specialist advice on housing and benefits
• Support people to get back into work
• Provide emergency short-term accommodation
• Serve hot nutritious meals for people who are rough sleeping
• Empower people to make positive decisions
• Make new accommodation feel like a home
• Support people into safe and suitable accommodation

Join our community

Our supporters continue to astound us. This year, our supporters ran over 156 miles to raise money for Emmanuel House, they climbed to Everest Basecamp, they cut out sugar for a whole month – the list is endless. We’ve been to basketball matches, yard sales, colour fun runs, e-bike launches, spoken word nights and local gigs, and had many visits from school children who have asked their friends and neighbours to help with their collections. The creativity and ingenuity of our supporters knows no bounds.

Volunteers are cooking meals, serving lunches, making cups of tea, helping out in the office, cutting hedges, raising funds in the charity shop, writing grant applications, and sharing our story at fundraising events.

How you can join us this winter:

• Donate second-hand clothes
• Buy Emmanuel House merchandise from our online store
• Donate non-perishable food
• Buy something from our Winter Wish List
• Donate your time and volunteer
• Set up a direct debit to Emmanuel House
• Talk to your friends and family about homelessness and chat about how you can help
• Speak to your colleagues about how your workplace can get involved
• Be kind and compassionate to people who ask for help. Always be polite and smile
• Take part in our 12 Days of Christmas campaign (coming soon)
• Make a financial donation and contribute to the running of the charity
• Follow us on social media and subscribe to our mailing list
• Share a photo of you and your community supporting Emmanuel House to add to our montage wall – just post on Instagram, X, LinkedIn or Facebook with #ISupportEmmanuelHouse somewhere in the caption, or email your photo directly to us: donations@emmanuelhouse.org.uk.

Click here to find a text version of our list.

Financial donations are essential for us to prevent people becoming homeless and supporting people out of homelessness 

• £2.50 could fund one person’s lunchtime meal at the support centre.
• £13 could fund a one-hour appointment with a support worker for someone who has just found themselves without a home.
• £20 could buy a beneficiary’s return taxi to a specialist appointment.
• £30 could enable us to buy a beneficiary’s smart phone with one month’s credit.
• £50 could fund a 30-minute call with an over-the-phone translation service, enabling us to support people whose first language isn’t English.
• £100 could provide a package of support and specialist advice for someone in crisis.
• £150 could buy a weekly supermarket shop for the Winter Shelter, enabling us to provide three meals a day for 27 people.
• £250 could contribute to a package of support to assist someone getting off the streets, helping us to meet their basic needs, liaising with other agencies and supporting them into accommodation.
• £500 could provide someone with 6 months’ worth of homelessness prevention and one-to-one tenancy support.
• £1500 is the daily cost to run Emmanuel House Support Centre.

How we’re helping people over winter

• Since our Winter Shelter opened in October, we have provided short-term emergency accommodation for 54 people and we have supported seven of those people to move into supported accommodation or private-rented tenancies.
• Our support centre is open every weekday morning to meet people’s basic human needs.
• Our Wellbeing Support Team and Mental Health in the County teams provide wellbeing and emotional support to people who are vulnerable to homelessness
• We’re working in minoritised ethnic communities to support people’s mental health and provide tenancy support.
• When the temperature drops below zero degrees, Emmanuel House will be part of Nottingham City Council’s ‘Severe Weather Emergency Protocol’ and we will provide an emergency overnight sit-up service in the support centre.
• Our singing sessions meet every Wednesday afternoon and light up the centre.
• The Women’s Group meets every Thursday afternoon with a calendar of activities including budgeting workshops, cooking classes, motivational speakers and mindfulness sessions.

Here’s an example of the support we’ve been providing this year

Connor*

Our Support Worker, Asia, has been working with Connor since December 2021. When he was first referred to Emmanuel House’s ‘Mental Health in the County’ team, he was staying in a hostel.

He had been living in a flat for a year when his mental health started to deteriorate. He was struggling with addiction and a hoarding disorder and was neglecting his mental health. He felt like he had no choice but to move back into the hostel, where he stayed for another two years.

When his mental health improved, Asia supported Connor to move into a new flat, which was provided by a local housing association. Before he moved in, Asia referred him to another charity that provides people with furniture and household goods, so that he wouldn’t be moving into an empty flat. She also applied for funding, which enabled him to order a fridge and gas cooker.

Connor is engaging with the local mental health team on an ongoing basis and is forming healthy relationships. He is volunteering with another charity that supports people with addiction problems and is interested in getting back into part-time work.

Connor said: “Thanks for all your support Asia. You really made a difference through really difficult times. And I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. My home is starting to feel like one.”