For most of us the Christmas period is a time to over indulge, relax and spend extra time with friends and families. But for many homeless people around the country Christmas is the same as any other time of the year – only colder.
However t's not the weather that tends to kill homeless people – but a dearth of services catering to support them in getting back on track, and helping them battle with addictions.
A new report from Crisis highlights a depressing statistic: the average age of people dying while homeless is just 47 - that's 30 years fewer than that of the general population. Chiswick estate agent OliverFinn is a supporter of the Estate Agency Foundation (
EAF) dedicated to eliminating the causes of homelessness.
London EAF
Christian Harper: "Homelessness is particularly heart-breaking for families at this time of year. It’s easy to forget how lucky we are to have a roof over our heads when so many would be grateful just for a safe place for the night.
“For those of us working in the property industry it’s particularly relevant, and we’ve always tried to put something back into the community, with
sponsorships of local charities etc. which is why we're happy to be a part of the EAF."
The Foundation brings together the whole estate agency industry to alleviate a major nationwide problem. Funds are raised via activities and events such as golf days, coffee mornings, football tournaments, a round UK cycle event, and the great run series.
Family homelessness
The 2011 fundraising target is £100,000 and the money raised is distributed to national agencies
Shelter,
Crisis and
The Salvation Army. In London EAF supports help-the-homeless charities including Centrepoint, Broadway and St Mungo’s.
The Foundation is especially concerned with homelessness caused by family breakdown and disputes, sexual and physical abuse in childhood or adolescence, having parents with drug or alcohol problems and previous experience of family homelessness.
Donate to Estate Agency Foundation.
