What do you do when you walk past someone who is homeless?

There are lots of reasons why someone might become homeless – from the death of a loved one, being a survivor of human trafficking, to having a chronic illness. But one aspect that unifies them all is the feeling of loneliness and isolation that comes with homelessness.

I feel the way people look at me on the streets is like I'm not worth anything.

We’re asking for a small favour. The next time you see someone who is homeless, just say hello. Smile – ask if they need anything, or if you can buy them a hot drink or a bottle of water. You could even tell them about Glass Door and where our nearest partner day centre is. You could also share our phone number, which is 0208 0166 838.

If nobody supports you, it is difficult to have hope. If nobody supports you, it is almost impossible to get off the streets.

The film

We’ve joined forces with Fresheather, a Creative Agency who’ve kindly created this animation for our Just Say Hello campaign:

"The team at Fresheather wanted to get involved with Glass Door in order to help spread the message of kindness, human connection and the importance of just saying hello. Living in London and seeing people experiencing homelessness can become part of daily life in this city. Often these people can go unnoticed and the public can seem desensitised to their situations." 

"People often think they have to give money to help when really a smile or a simple hello can really brighten someone’s day and make the feel less invisible. We chose to take the route of stop motion as this allowed us to create a familiar environment and characters for the public to connect and empathise with."

"Glass Door charity sprang to mind as a London based homeless charity and we regularly spot them coming up all over the city so thought it would be an amazing opportunity to collaborate to get the message of kindness out there."  - Fresheather team

Not sure what to say or do?

• Ask them how they’re feeling, and if they need anything like a bottle of water or a hot drink, or a meal
• Let them know about Glass Door and how we can help
• Rushing to work and don’t have time to stop? Help them feel seen with eye contact and a smile.
• Refer them to Streetlink - the details you provide will be sent to the local authority or outreach service for the area to help them find the individual and connect them to support. 

Safety should be your top priority so only approach someone if you feel safe to do so, during the daytime, and if there are plenty of people around.

How you can help Glass Door

• Donate – big or small, to help people who are homeless access safety and warmth, as well as advice and support
• Take a look the list of things we need in case you can donate something
• Share our campaign on social media