Shelter

We're proud to work in partnership with HSBC and local organisations to open bank accounts for people with no fixed address. Through our Breaking the Cycle initiative, over 5,000 individuals have opened HSBC UK basic bank accounts. We understand how access to banking can support people to receive financial support, pay bills and find and keep a safe home. 📧 For more information about how your organisation may benefit from this initiative, contact: [email protected] 'A bank account is such a simple thing that means the world and is a huge deal to someone with no fixed address — it’s an opportunity to break those barriers.'

Our inspirational chief executive Polly Neate CBE FAcSS LLD(hc), has announced that she is stepping down at the end of March 2025 after seven years leading Shelter's fight to end the housing emergency. Words from Polly: 'I joined Shelter because I know that an end to homelessness and housing insecurity in this country is not a wild fantasy – it is an achievable reality.   I feel immensely proud of how Shelter has led the pursuit of that goal over the last seven years. Deciding to leave has been an incredibly difficult decision, but I know the time is right, both personally and for the organisation. I’ll forever be grateful to the incredible colleagues, volunteers and supporters who have enabled us to achieve so much in my time here.'

Take on a 5km or 10km Walk for Home this December and join the fight for home! Our Central London route takes in major landmarks and stunning Christmas lights. Join today by yourself or get your colleagues together and join as part of a team. 

🏠 Building more social homes is the answer to the housing emergency. That’s why we spent the Labour Party Conference spreading this message – including at our panel event with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham. We discussed the importance of social homes and shared the findings of our Brick by Brick report, which sets out a six-point plan on how the government can get building on a mass scale. The key takeaways? Building 90,000 social homes would: 👉 Pay for itself within three years, with the economic benefits surpassing the upfront cost of building 👉 Add over £50billion to the economy over 30 years 👉 Generate £31.4billion in wider benefits across society over 30 years 👉 Support 140k direct jobs in the first year, plus thousands of indirect jobs A huge thank you to all our panellists. Housing campaigner Ray also joined Shelter’s Chief Executive Polly Neate, with The Guardian's Kiran Stacey as our brilliant host.

In our suitcase for the Labour Party Conference was… a doll’s house - but this is not child’s play. Lucy from Shelter’s Public Affairs team explains more 👇 🚨 Right now, a record 151,630 children are homeless and growing up in temporary accommodation. Many will be living with mould, cramped spaces, rats, dangerous wiring shown in the doll’s house, as shown in the doll’s house. We need the government to commit to building social homes, the ONLY sustainable solution to homelessness. With IKEA, we’re calling for every child to have a safe and secure home. Join our campaign calling on the government to build the social homes we need: https://shltr.org.uk/DfvoX p.s. You can see the doll's houses for yourself at IKEA's London Wembley, Manchester (Ashton-under-Lyne) and Birmingham (Wednesbury) stores until next week.

Great to talk to Chancellor Rachel Reeves at #LabourPartyConference about the horrific conditions homeless children living in temporary accommodation are facing, and why the government needs to invest in the 90,000 social homes a year we need to end the housing emergency. #BuildSocialHousing IKEA

Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner, and Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, joined our #LabourConference2024 event to discuss the desperate need and positive impact of building social homes. This week we’ll be campaigning at the Labour conference to share your experiences, from unaffordable rent to temporary accommodation. Together we can make the #HousingEmergency impossible to ignore. #Lab24

Thanks to the National Lottery players over the last 30 years, we have been there for families like Lily and Koby’s across the country. 🌟 defending the right to a decent home 🌟 bringing lived experience to the centre of our services and campaigns 🌟 partnering with charities across the sector to fix the broken housing system We are so grateful to the National Lottery for the game-changing impact they have had for homeless and poorly housed people – Happy 30th Birthday National Lottery! #NationalLottery30

We’ve worked with IKEA to reimagine their FLISAT doll’s house to highlight the terrible conditions faced by thousands of families.    The UNWELCOME HOME doll’s house highlights the impact of the housing emergency on the 151,630 babies, children and teenagers growing up homeless in temporary accommodation in England.    We’re calling on the government to commit to the solutions, including building 90,000 social homes a year.    Find out about the number of children homeless in your area using our new tool, and add your name to the call for genuine change: https://shltr.org.uk/ffvec

NEW REPORT: How the household benefit cap is trapping families, including survivors of domestic abuse, in homelessness. We’ve released a report with Women’s Aid and the Child Poverty Action Group detailing how the household benefit cap traps families including survivors of domestic abuse in refuges and other temporary accommodation. New figures out today show that 123,000 households are now affected by the benefit cap, which limits the amount a low-income or out of work household can receive in benefits – regardless of the size of home a family needs. 7 in 10 affected are lone parents, who struggle to work enough to escape the cap while caring for their children Survivors of #DomesticAbuse – many of whom are lone mothers - get stuck living in refuges because the cap means it can be impossible to find an affordable home to move on to.  A third of refuges @womensaid surveyed reported a majority of women being delayed or prevented from leaving due to the cap, which in many cases will not even cover social rent. Find out more about how the cap is making it even harder for survivors of domestic abuse and their families to find a safe and secure home in the report: https://shltr.org.uk/Yfc7q