The figures on homelessness can look very daunting. At least 382,000 people are homeless in England today, and 1 in every 153 people in England are currently homeless, according to Shelter statistics. But one volunteering group at York is working hard to change that.
Shelter Support was only recently revived from the adopt an activity society page, originally housing a small squad of second-year mates looking to “do some good”.
In just a short span of time, the group has hit some impressive milestones. The students have coordinated several large-scale fundraising events, and spearheaded collaborations with a prolific list of other societies, all whilst casually scooping up the prestigious honour of New Student Group of the Year in the fiercely competitive York SU Activities Awards.
I spoke with one of the group’s founding members to learn more about how this camaraderie of students is tackling York’s homelessness problem head-on.
Reawakening the volunteering group
Mariam, a third year law student, is the society’s Events Coordinator. She spoke frankly with me about the current state of homelessness in the UK.
“There are just so many people out there on the side of the sidewalks, genuinely just being ignored, and it’s just, when you actually see the number yourself, it really affects you as a person,” she said.
Mariam and her friends were so struck by this issue, and cared so deeply about it, they resolved to do something about it. She recalled Shelter Support’s reviving President, Eve, saying: “why is no one doing anything about this, and what can students do about this?”
The group started small. Initially, there were only six committee members. But they also happened to be very close friends, which Mariam admitted partially contributed to the rapid expansion of the volunteering group.
“It’s really nice because when you’re all friends, it’s kind of easier to do all the work, because it makes you feel like you’re doing something fun, while also bonding with your friends.”
“We wanted to have a society where people could come and do something good and give back to the community, but could do it with their friends as well.”
Mariam said she never expected the volunteering group to take off as it did. There is a noticeable tendency for students to veer away from volunteering groups, choosing to prioritise their time on more conventional social activities that resonate more with the typical ‘uni lifestyle’.
“The main societies that people pay attention to are non-volunteering societies […] something that they think they already have an interest in; whereas homelessness is not something that a lot of people really have an interest in at the beginning.”
The Homelessness Crisis: Why is it hitting York residents particularly hard?
We spoke about the homelessness situation in York specifically, sharing theories on why its impact is particularly dire in this region. York is an expensive city, particularly when it comes to housing. The cost-of-living crisis has been felt very strongly here, which, as Mariam explained, “is detrimental to people who are already in a vulnerable position financially. It just pushes them further and further into the issue.”
To help rectify the effects of this, Shelter Support took to the streets of York, distributing tea and coffee to homeless people.
“Among the students, it was really popular. Doing it in person is different to donating – it’s obviously very helpful to donate money, but doing something like that really puts it into perspective, really sobers you up.”
“Offering someone something as simple as a biscuit and a coffee, and to see that making their whole day […] it’s upsetting at a certain point because that’s like the best bit of their day.”
York SU’s Union Affairs Officer Lewis Parrey’s Housing Hell Campaign – which aims to confront the growing housing prices levied at student renters – has propelled the housing costs issue into the students’ lexicon. But the issue of expensive housing in York is not ephemeral, nor restricted to students.
The small size of the city, in comparison with other UK cities, also contributes to the prominence of the homelessness issue. Mariam explained: “You’re more likely to notice it because there’s not like this little area that they all gravitate towards, that you don’t go and then you don’t see them.”
Shelter Society’s Fundraising Events
One of Shelter Support’s events included a charity sleepout for the local homelessness charity SASH (Safe and Sound Homes).
“SASH focuses on individuals who are more on the younger side and dealing with homelessness,” Mariam told me.
Restore is another one of their benefiting charities, which provides accommodation and support for people in York who would otherwise be homeless.
Mariam also spoke passionately about one of her favourite charities against homelessness, Chocolate & Co.
“Choc & Co is the cutest little cafe in the city centre,” Mariam told me, “they recruit ex-addicts, give them jobs as barristers and offer them financial and emotional support. They give them the skills to get up, go to work, and get money back. It’s reintroducing them into working life and giving them the support to do that.”
“Homelessness is a much more complicated issue than people think. You can house a homeless person, but you have to provide emotional support, financial support. You have to give them skills – and that’s what Choc & Co is doing.”
Students in Shelter Support also went to a football stadium and slept in the cold hall, as part of a community outreach project to raise awareness.
“It was really… it is really sobering,” Mariam said, correcting herself.
Even though the event took place in May, she expressed her shock at how cold it was. “And we were like layered up, we had refreshments, yoga mats, we were prepped!
“When it comes to homeless people, they are not prepped. No one thinks I’m going to become homeless.
“It was quite daunting for us for one night, so imagine how cold it is for someone who has to do it every single day. And there’s no way out of it. Imagine how you must feel as a person, knowing the difficulty in escaping that.”
Mariam told me that they also organise a lot of collaborations with other societies. “That’s how a lot of people know us,” she added.
The group’s Instagram page showcases a varied array of collabs, including Swing Dance Society and Dog Society.
“With Sapphic Soc, people came and donated period pads for women, and we used those products and gave them to our respective charities.”
Some other members of the society, including Mariam, also participated in a 10K fundraising run in Scarborough, bringing in over £700 for SASH. They also did a relay race with other sports societies, which raised over £800. “The charity gigs raised like £600, which was really good,” Mariam added. Another event with Swift Soc raised £300, showing that their list of accolades was growing.
“We do raise a lot of money, but the period pads and the tea and coffee do actually help out quite a bit as well, so it all adds up.”
In the future, the volunteering group is also launching an essay competition with UoY’s Law Society to explore the legal implications of homelessness.
“I think the biggest thing we’ve done is the Giving Tree initiative. That was a lot of work, but it was really rewarding and definitely worth it,” she tells me.
“We got a list from the charities that sponsor people, and they asked people ‘what do you want for Christmas?’… and the answers ranged from a blanket, a yoga mat… one father wanted a really nice pen for his son because he was going into sixth form.
“And then we write it down on little cards, we hang them up and people take them home, buy the gift, give it back, and then we take it to the respective charities.
“Over the past two years, we’ve delivered over 800 gifts for homeless people.
“We got testimonials back from the people who received the gifts, and it’s really sweet reading them.”
“Everything we do, we always say, even if it helped one person, it was worth doing all that work.”
The extent of their impact and homelessness on a national scale
“We’re just students,” Mariam tells me, “we don’t have that much funding, we don’t have that much money, but we ended up helping what, like 800 people, which is really impressive.”
“We’re just literally a group of people, a group of friends, doing all this with the help of people who are really keen to get involved. So it’s very hard, but we’re trying our best, even at a student level.”
“I think it’s important to highlight how much students can do, because I didn’t think we’d be able to do this much.”
“At the beginning, when we decided to start this society, that wasn’t something I thought I’d be able to do.”
I asked her what more she thought could be done on a national scale and she said: “More funding, that’s the key issue, more awareness of the issue, I think more support given out like the night angels, they do a lot of work and they offer to homeless people. There can be more opportunities to provide housing for them.
“I know Restore and SASH do that but really, it should be the government doing more. It shouldn’t be up to charities donating time and their own money to do this.
“Obviously, this is something that people expect the government to do, the Council to do, the more ‘mature’ people to do, like maybe even people who have the time and the funds. But we did it, and we’re very proud of it, and if we can do it, anyone can do it, really.”
You can see their Instagram page here and review their York SU page here.