About us
We fund life-changing support to help people who are homeless in London, and raise awareness
Streets of London has provided more than £1 million of funding to enable essential support for homeless people in London, helping people to move off the streets and rebuild their lives.
We began in 2010 with a series of small music gigs in the capital, and we continue to focus our efforts there as nearly half of people sleeping rough in England are in London and the South East.
We've grown as an organisation, but unfortunately so has the problem of homelessness, which is why we're so grateful to everyone who supports us with their time, effort and donations.
There is a severe shortage of funding in the homeless sector, especially given the increase in the numbers of homeless people.
For many charities funding may be insecure and unpredictable. We provide grants of up to £15,000 to specific projects that are offering direct support to homeless people. We raise money via special events like music gigs, our annual Sleep-Out and Night Walk, and prize draws; as well through the generous efforts of individual supporters and corporate partners.
What we do
We believe that every person has a right to a home. Homeless people are some of the most marginalised in our society, and every one of them deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, with access to safe and stable housing. As a society we have a responsibility to provide the support they need, and to address the root causes of the homelessness crisis in this country.
Our Ambassadors
We're really lucky to have the support of some big names in the music industry. Mark Knopfler, Dan Smith (Bastille), Justin Young (The Vaccines) and Ralph McTell are Streets of London’s ambassadors.
Our events
We host annual fundraising events like our Sleep-Out and Night Walk, which are a great way for anyone to get involved to support the cause.
Over the years our music events have featured incredible line-ups including Ellie Goulding, Bastille, Billy Bragg, Dua Lipa, Clean Bandit, Mumford & Sons, Years & Years, George Ezra, James Blunt, Craig David, Jess Glynne, Rudimental, Jessie Ware, Tom Odell, Birdy, Kodaline, Jax Jones, Mabel, Not3s, Dermot Kennedy, Grace Carter, Ralph McTell, Seasick Steve and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones.
We also hold auctions and prize draws of music memorabilia from some of the biggest names in music, like Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Florence + the Machine, Ed Sheeran and many more!
Many individuals and teams of people support us by taking part in challenge events or organising other types of fundraising events.
Corporate supporters
Streets of London has benefitted from the generosity of many corporate supporters, such as Kellogg's and Marsh & Parsons. We're very grateful to all the organisations that have given their time and money by sponsoring and hosting events, fundraising as a team, making large donations, and sharing our work with their networks. Please do get in touch if your organisation would be interested in supporting our work.
Raising awareness
We aim to shift perceptions and challenge some of the stereotypes about who homeless people are, and to increase general understanding about the issue and what can be done to tackle it.
We want every person experiencing homelessness to be recognised as an individual with a unique story, and with hopes and plans for the future. A few years ago we made a short film called 'We Were All 10 Once', featuring several well-known musicians and a number of people who were homeless at the time of filming. The film aims to highlight the fact that homelessness can happen to anyone, and every homeless person should have a chance at a fresh start.
Our experience
Streets of London Director Ian Steuart Fothringham has worked in the homeless sector for nearly two decades, spending many years as a front line worker supporting homeless people at a day centre in Westminster. You can read an interview with Ian about his experience in the sector and the work of Streets of London.