Liz Rutherfoord, Chief Executive 

Launching our new strategy today made me think back to our charity’s beginnings, how far we’ve come and the challenges facing us in these times. Single Homeless Project was founded in 1975 by six homeless men seeking an alternative to rough sleeping or the sub-standard provision in common lodging houses or spikes. Whilst we have grown beyond recognition from those early days, these origins continue to shape the way we work and our vision of a society where everyone has a place to call home and the chance to live a fulfilling life. 

Covid-19 has reconfigured the world, making it more unpredictable and forcing us to adapt, but with this, it has also presented us with opportunities for bringing about change. We’re helping more people than ever before, working with nearly 10,000 Londoners last year, from those in crisis to those taking the final steps towards independence. We’re working in new ways, evolving our services, tackling prejudices, and forging new relationships. We’ve continued to build up a strong reputation for the quality of our services, the commitment of our staff, and our willingness to go the extra mile for the Londoners we support. 

Covid-19 has reconfigured the world, making it more unpredictable and forcing us to adapt, but with this, it has also presented us with opportunities for bringing about change.

 An uncertain future 

The economic fallout from the pandemic has put enormous pressure on many Londoners and we are likely to feel the impact for years to come. With unemployment rising, young people disproportionately affected, and more people facing precarious and stressful living situations, we could well see an increase in those forced to sleep rough on our city’s streets.  

Our increased focus 

Many people forced to sleep rough experience chronically high levels of poor physical health. In response to this, our new strategy increases our focus on tackling health inequality. We have introduced specialist health leads to support clients to access the care they deserve. We have also broadened our programme of wellbeing and recovery initiatives to provide clients with more opportunities to take part in sport and other physical activity because we know that by doing so, they will greatly improve their overall health.

Public services and systems designed to address homelessness should work effectively for everyone who needs them. But too many people are let down by outdated approaches and one size fits all services. We can all see the human cost of homelessness. We’re raising our ambition to influence service design and system change. By using our insight and expertise and by amplifying our client’s voices, we will become a voice for change. 

Our new strategic priorities 

Our new five-year strategy is an evolution of our history-making the most of our collective experience, expertise and ambition. We focus on four strategic priorities: delivering urgent services to single Londoners experiencing homelessness, helping our clients on their journey to independence, developing new services that address unmet needs and influencing service design and system change. 

The years ahead will be challenging, but we are more determined than ever to ensure that single people experiencing homelessness in London have access to the services they need

The years ahead will be challenging, but we are more determined than ever to ensure that single people experiencing homelessness in London have access to the services they need and that we continue to have a positive and sustained impact on our clients’ lives. 

Find out more about our strategy 2021-26 here