Supported Accommodation

Our supported accommodation services give homeless and vulnerable people the specialist support they need to find stability and move on in their lives. In 2019-20 we provided more than 1,200 homeless adults, care leavers and young people at risk with a safe place to live. We also supported a total of 393 people in our cold weather shelters in North London and Redbridge.

As well as providing secure accommodation, these services offer intensive 1-1 support to tackle the underlying causes of homelessness. Each hostel specialises in meeting one of four priority needs: mental health, substance misuse, offending or the needs of vulnerable young people, including those leaving care.

Keeping someone off the streets is only the first step. To break the cycle of homelessness, our accommodation services focus on equipping people to move on with their lives and achieve sustainable, long term recovery. We do this by:

Minimising harm from substance misuse and helping people to access appropriate treatment
Supporting people with mental ill health who are leaving hospital or facing exclusion from other services
Supporting young people to develop the skills they need to live independently
Working with people leaving prison to break offending patterns and re-integrate them into the community
Enabling all clients to grow in confidence and develop appropriate life skills

Most of our hostels are staffed 24 hours a day by support workers who are committed to providing a stable and secure environment for clients as they work with them to address their needs. Typical lengths of stay vary by service, from four weeks to up to two years.

Many of our hostel residents are struggling with more than one need at a time, including poor physical and mental health. Our hostel staff have been trained in Psychologically Informed Environments (PIE), ensuring that our hostel-based work takes account of the persistent effects of adversity or trauma on our clients, and their resulting psychological and emotional needs.

Substance Use

Two thirds of homeless people cite drug or alcohol use as a reason for first becoming homeless. SHP’s services support people with substance use problems at every stage in their recovery journey. Read more

Mental Health

Four in every five homeless people suffer from a mental health problem. We work with people with a wide range of mental health challenges and support needs across all our services. Read more

Offending

Some of the people we work with are trapped in a spiral of offending. Without the right support, financial help and housing options when they come out of prison, many ex-offenders will struggle to break this cycle. Read more

Young people

Many of the young people we work with have not had the best start in life. We build trust and confidence to help young people take control of their futures. Read more

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Support more Londoners out of homelessness for good

Every donation helps Londoners facing homelessness get one step closer to independence.
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Our Mission

We are Single Homeless Project (SHP), a London-wide charity working to prevent homelessness and help vulnerable and socially excluded people to transform their lives.
Map of our services

Use our interactive map to see where we work on the ground
How we transform lives

Each day our work restores hope to homeless and vulnerable people with nowhere else to turn.
Volunteer vacancies

Could you volunteer your time, skills and talents to help homeless and vulnerable people to transform their lives?
Supported accommodation

Our hostels and supported housing are a lifeline for homeless people who are at a point in their lives where they would struggle to live independently.
Services by borough

Find out what services we provide in each London borough.
A homelessness crisis

Homelessness has no place in 21st century London – yet we are in the grip of a homeless crisis.
Our mission, vision & values

Our mission, vision and values inspire and challenge us as an organisation.
In from the cold: how to help rough sleepers this winter

With rough sleeping in London on the rise, it’s easy to feel helpless – but you can make a difference.
Our history

Single Homeless Project was founded by a group of homeless people in the mid-1970s. Today, 40 years on, we still try to look at the world through our clients’ eyes.