Thanks to generous donations from the public, trusts and businesses, matched by Oxfordshire Community Foundation (OCF), Oxford Homeless Movement successfully reached their Christmas match fund target, raising £150,000 to help homeless charities and provide new services for people experiencing homelessness in Oxford.
The first of these funds has been awarded to ten local homeless charities with grants of £5,266 each. Information about all of the homeless charities and the services they offer locally is available on the Oxford Homeless Movement website.
Katrina Horne, Project Director of The Gatehouse said: “We are delighted to work in partnership with Oxford Homeless Movement, as more joined up working can only lead to better outcomes for people experiencing homelessness in Oxfordshire.”
Eddie Blaze, the General Manager of Emmaus told us about the difference these grants make: “The generosity of the people of Oxfordshire and the fact that donations have been matched by Oxfordshire Community Foundation, can really make a difference to those experiencing homelessness.”
Donations raised also helped create an Impact Fund that will be used to develop new initiatives filling critical gaps in services to the homeless. The Impact Fund, managed by OCF, opened last week and will close on 4th March. We are seeking applications from organisations that can provide a demonstrable contribution towards prevention of homelessness or move on housing.
There is still a lot of work to be done to help those who become homeless – interventions, support and emergency help for those currently rough sleeping. OCF and the partners in Oxford Homeless Movement recognise the importance of working on the whole system and the fund will work around prevention, so that we help catch people before they fall into homelessness.
Oxford Homeless Movement will continue to bring greater visibility to all of Oxford’s work in this area, through their website and social media, guiding volunteers, supporters and homeless people alike to the actions or services they’re looking for.