We wanted to get out there on the streets and make a difference in person. So with the help of local bands, a venue and some volunteers, we hosted our first fundraising gig. Not only was it an entertaining event, we raised enough money to purchase blankets, sleeping bags, warm clothing, flasks, food and trollies to transport it around the streets.

The first distribution rounds were set up in Hastings and it was a great success. However it became apparent the homeless situation was growing and we needed more help and donations.

A Facebook page was set up and the response was phenomenal. Within a couple of months our distribution teams grew, allowing us to spread to neighbouring towns, Bexhill and Eastbourne.

Since then we have gone from strength to strength.  After a few weeks we began asking for donations from the public and various local companies and charities. We were not disappointed, Dom’s Food Mission provided us with toiletries and food. Hastings Direct donated £150 and donations of food from Tesco, and other stores throughout Hastings, Bexhill and Eastbourne.

And it hasn’t stopped there…

In July 2016 Warming Up The Homeless were nominated by More Radio Hastings for the ‘Chris Copsy Gold Award’, an accolade we were overjoyed to go on and win!

The charity received an award from The High Sheriff of East Sussex in March 2023 in recognition of great and valuable services to the community

CEO Trudy Hampton received The Queens Platinum Champion Award for outstanding work in the community.

CEO Trudy Hampton received the Mayors Civic Award in 2022 and 2023.

The Future

The charity has built a reputation for its knowledge, service and professionalism over the years and works closely with the local councils across its charity reach. Working with partner agencies is important as we are stronger together.

Our primary goal is to assist local authorities in securing new homes for those facing homelessness or who are currently homeless. This has to be a new generation of housing and one of affordability. Affordable homes need to be redesigned to include those on housing benefit entitlements as currently it does not! So how can it be affordable? For whom?

Many people who are housed in temporary and emergency accommodation are often in appalling conditions. This has to stop. By working with statutory agencies, we aim to stamp out illegal practices of substandard accommodation and “rip off” landlords.

Housing people in temporary accommodation comes at a significant cost to local authorities. And this has become increasingly acute over the past few years. With skyrocketing private rents and a diminishing supply of housing, councils have been forced to look to alternative options including B&Bs and hotels as temporary accommodation, at an even greater cost to the taxpayer.

London Councils estimates that the capital’s 32 boroughs on average collectively spend around £60m per month on temporary accommodation. Bristol reports a potential overspend of £11.1m owing to rising housing costs.

A finance peer review by the Local Government Association found that Hastings Borough Council could be in dire straits due to rapidly increasing housing costs. The review said if action is not taken, the council’s section 151 officer “will be left with little choice but to issue a section 114 notice”. The council reported that its temporary accommodation costs have gone up by more than 400% since 2019 from £730,000 in 2019 to £4.5m in 2022-23. Council leader Paul Barnett (Lab) ( Hastings) said the “financial difficulties” the council is facing are “the result of a national housing crisis”.

“The system is broken, and as a result, is forcing many residents out of secure accommodation into temporary housing provided by the council.”

Trudy Hampton, CEO of Warming up the Homeless is leading the way to review council policies that see the weak and vulnerable out on the streets. Trudy says “there is not enough accommodation to house the amount of homeless people we see each week. We support over 1,400 weekly and this simply can’t continue. Our services have risen by 254.2% in one year. Criteria has been defined, redefined then cut even more to ensure those who are vulnerable are housed . Realistically it’s an extremely small percentage of those in the greatest of need, who are actually housed. The rest are forced to sleep in the streets and wait. Some wait weeks, others months and the rest years. This has got to stop and stop now”.

Source; Local Government Chronicle

Our Hastings Homeless Support Centre has proven to be a haven for those living on the streets. It’s not only a safe space for those in crisis, it’s also a host venue for the professionals that the homeless community need on their homeless journey.

We aim to build more Support Centres across our charity reach. Rother will have one from January 24, and Eastbourne will be after that.

It’s the way forward to combat homelessness in the future.

Get Involved

Learn about how you can get involved, on the streets, at home or in the workplace.