News5

Helping homeless helps us all

Jonathan got to meet some of the residents and was shown round the centre by Alan D'Arcy, manager for Lewisham, and Executive Director, Tanya English.

St Mungo's staff know that the route out of social isolation for homeless men and women is the self-esteem that comes from work and good relationships with other people. But there are real challenges.

More than 1 in 3 of their clients have no qualifications at all.

  Nearly 1 in 5 can't read or write well enough to fill in a form for a job.

  Less than 1 in 20 are in paid employment...

  ... but nearly 16 in 20 would start a job tomorrow if they could.

(Source: St Mungo's)

"Very often, many organisations see homeless people as too problematic and push them away," said Jonathan. "St Mungo's don't give up on those people."

Instead, St Mungo's gives confidence and life skills to homeless people - through cooking, literacy, gardening and a host of other pathways to employment. In that way, many of St Mungo's clients get to break the cycle of 'no home, no job - no job, no home'.

According to St Mungo's, independent research shows that their work and learning services helped 125 people to find sustainable employment. It even saved the taxpayer £5.6 million last year.

You can learn more about the work of St Mungo's at www.mungos.org.

"Giving homeless people the chance to gain their independence is good for all of us," said Jonathan Clamp, after visiting St Mungo's Hostel in Hither Green. St Mungo's is London's leading charity for homeless people.