updated 7 June 2019

Glass Door shelters and support services are open to all, providing a safe place to sleep, advice and daytime services for those with nowhere else to turn. Thanks to our partnerships with churches and drop-in centres in West and Southwest London, we provide shelter and the support needed to end someone's chapter of homelessness. Our night shelters save lives, and our support programmes change lives.

The numbers 

  • Between 1999 and 2019, about 5,000 individuals have found shelter and a warm welcome in a church-based shelter run in partnership with Glass Door. 
  • In the winter of 2018-2019, a total of 700 individuals (age range 17 to 83) found shelter across 29 church shelters in our network. The total number of individuals accessing a Glass Door shelter increased from 643 last winter, in part thanks to our Richmond circuit extending support across the whole winter. 
  • Volunteers cooked and served over 29,745 dinners in 2018-2019 (up from 22,165 dinners in 2017-2018).
  • In partnership with five drop-in centres, a team of caseworkers work year-round to help get people back into independence. Between June 2018 and April 2019, 59 guests found work and 204 of our guests moved into housing (compared to 80 into work and 188 into housing in 2017-2018).
  • Of the 85 that we helped into housing in 2015-2016, 70% were still in housing a year later. This statistic is getting even better as we are now supporting guests after they've been housed. 
  • Staff and volunteers welcome guests and eat meals together in our church shelters, helping to give a renewed sense of dignity. On average 70% percent of guests "strongly agree" or "agree" to feeling more optimistic about the future since staying in the Glass Door shelters (according to data from our anonymous survey 2015 - 2019). Said a guest in his forties:

Above all, I feel more confident and positive.

The Glass Door Theory of Change

When basic needs are provided for in combination with casework and specialist support through partner oganisations, guests are able to harness their motivation and take control of their lives. We aim to help guests achieve the ultimate goal of independent futures with a safe and stable place to call home.

More information

Play a part in what we achieve by donating / fundraising /volunteering

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