EnglishArabicChinese (Simplified)CzechFrenchGermanItalianPolishRomanianRussianSpanishSerbian

4 October 2019

Local Battersea volunteer Lara Haggar and Glass Door COO Lucy Abraham joined Julia Bright on local radio station Riverside Radio's People and Places programme to talk about what locals in the community are doing to tackle homelessness. 

Since the first night shelter opened in 1999, 5000 men and women have stayed with Glass Door. Said Lucy:

We do track outputs--for example, 202 people were housed last year. But for us it’s not about the numbers, it’s about the individual cases, because each person might have had a very different life path, goals and ambitions. We prefer to treat each of our guests as an individual and work with them based on what it is that they need.

“Every year that we’ve increased the scale of the Sleep Out, we’ve also been able to increase our delivery. Crucially people fundraise from their friends and family, and that money can directly support our guests,” Lucy said.

Dedicated night shelter volunteer Lara has attended the Sleep Out several years in a row. She said:

My first time was with three friends. The environment was so welcoming and very calm, we had the opportunity to speak with people who had actually been previously homeless and had come off the streets. That was a really amazing experience.

“I think during that time you’re not really pretending to be homeless; you’re really just raising money for homeless people. You only get a taste of things like how much light there is on the street and how much noise there is, and the exposure you have to the elements.”

“It’s such a lovely environment, everyone starts talking to each other. I’ve done it twice with my children. My daughter’s birthday is on the 5th of October and every year she says: ‘I want to do the Sleep Out!’ We really enjoy it.”


Find out more about the Sleep Out or register now.