Topic Launch for Year 4

Year 4 were privileged today to hear an assembly by Tony Miller from the Whitechapel Mission, which gives homeless people on the streets of London a chance to make a new life for themselves. He has challenged us to learn more about homelessness, to spread awareness and to raise money to help homeless people on the streets of London. Watch this space as we will be undertaking a number of fundraising and enterprise activities this term to help the homeless (locally and in London).

A homeless person is anyone who does not have a permanent roof over their head, or cannot live there or will soon lose their home. 

Half a million people are homeless in the UK and of this there are around 16,000 rough sleepers. Anyone found sleeping at night time is a rough sleeper but this ignores people who are hiding or sleep on the streets during the day rather than at night.

Tower Hamlets, where Whitechapel Mission is, has 7 official rough sleepers but they see 300 per day. Official figures are not always accurate.

Whitechapel mission open doors at 7am to help homeless people have a good start to the day.

Homeless people cannot wake up and go to the bathroom, make themselves a cup of tea, choose clothes or get dressed. They do not have a food cupboard.  Whitechapel Mission helps all of these people do these things every day.

Could it happen to you? Unlikely. Often people that they help have low education levels but most importantly low self esteem levels. Most people can rely on their friends and families in hard times but for the few, they do not have this.  This includes members of the armed forces, ex-prisoners.

With education comes choice. Whitechapel mission is all about giving choice back to people who have lost it. This starts with giving them a choice of breakfast and a choice of clothes to wear.

Last year, WM got 34 people back into full time education, 78 back into work and 128 people into permanent homes.

£100 will buy 200 breakfasts!

Tony urged us to leave a unique mark on the world by touching other people’s lives and to make a difference in the world. He warned us never to approach a homeless person on the street. Always talk to mum and dad or give to homeless charities like the Whitechapel Mission instead.