Maria, a mother in her forties, lives with her four children aged 13 to 22 in a hostel near Finchley Road. The five of them occupy two bedrooms that fall on either side of a corridor shared with other families.
The hostel is run by the local council, which provides shelter and energy to the homeless in exchange for a contribution calculated on their earnings. But the space is so cramped that Maria does not have a bedroom of her own. “I sleep in my kitchen,” she said. “I’ve been there since the day we came.”
The heating does not work, and hasn’t for eight years — since she moved in. She has been using electric heaters — a costly expense — since a plumber came round and promised to help but never returned.
Maria (not her real name) said it has been impossible to maintain friendships, much less entertain relationships, in such over-crowded conditions. She and her children have little social life and generally feel embarrassed and humiliated, she said, breaking down in tears.
But each Thursday, in a room on the ground floor of the hostel, a bazaar takes place organised by a charity that provides some welcome relief and support.
The Doorstep Homeless Families Project provides an after-school club for young children to play with toys and parents to get their hands on children’s clothing, baby equipment or small electrical items.
In addition, they provide free laundry facilities, information sessions for adults to get back into work, outings and special activities during school holidays as well as healthy snacks and food hampers. Maria calls Doorstep “a godsend” and says: “They are doing the job that Camden isn’t doing.”
Doorstep is one of eight charities being funded with a £31,250 grant from the £250,000 donation we have raised for our Winter Survival Appeal from the Evening Standard Dispossessed Fund, which is administered by the London Community Foundation. The Standard’s appeal is being run in partnership with Comic Relief.
Since last winter, the cost-of-living crisis has increased the utility charges for families in Maria’s hostel. Maria has felt the pinch. “Prices have gone up massively,” she said, adding that both food and transport had become prohibitive with expenses doubling. “I’ve had to skip meals,” she said.
For years Maria worked as a chef for a restaurant company that took her from kitchens in Notting Hill to the refurbished Battersea Power Station, but recently she was made redundant, and things have got worse. Her eldest son has been working as a delivery driver since he was 16 to help make ends meet.
For her and dozens of other similarly homeless and destitute families, Doorstep provides essential goods and services as they await a permanent housing solution. Some beneficiaries pitch in. For example, Maria’s neighbour, Iryna, has lived in the hostel since 2022 after fleeing Ukraine with her family. Back home, she worked as a tutor — now she volunteers for Doorstep to help run after-school activities for young children in the hostel. They offer courses teaching everything from digital literacy to cooking on a low budget.
Just as important, said Maria, is that their charity workers really listen to her. One of them, Vicky Fox, has been there 33 years. “Vicky is incredible,” Maria said. “Without her support, I don’t know how I would cope.” What Maria wanted me to know was that charity workers like Vicky “really listen” — that they take the time “to understand” her pain.
How you can help
£10 could provide a nourishing meal for a Londoner every day for a month
£20 could provide a duvet and pillow to a young person helping them sleep at night
£50 could contribute to a new school uniform for a child fleeing with a parent from an abusive relationship
£100 could provide 400 meals for families at a local community centre
£300 could pay for all that’s needed by a family expecting a baby, including new cot, mattress and pram
£1,750 could get a truck packed with enough food for 7,000 meals
In a nutshell
We have partnered with Comic Relief to launch our Winter Survival Appeal Christmas Campaign, with Comic Relief pledging £500,000 to kick off our fund. The money we raise will help fund charities in London and across the country helping people who are struggling with the cost of living crisis.
How you can help
To make a donation, visit comicrelief.com/wintersurvival
