Shelter (charity)

Shelter is a registered charity that campaigns for housing justice in England and Scotland. It gives advice, information, and advocacy to people and campaigns, and lobbies government and local authorities for new laws and policies. It works in partnership with Shelter Cymru in Wales and the Housing Rights Service in Northern Ireland. The charity was founded in 1966 and raised 75.2 million pounds in 2022/23.

Shelter helps people in housing need by providing advice and practical assistance, and campaigns for better investment in housing and for laws and policies to improve the lives of homeless and badly housed people.

History

Shelter was launched on 1 December 1966, evolving out of the work on behalf of homeless people then being carried on in Notting Hill in London. The launch of Shelter hugely benefited from the coincidental screening, in November 1966, of the BBC television play Cathy Come Home ten days before Shelter's launch. It was written by Jeremy Sandford and directed by Ken Loach – and highlighted the plight of the homeless in Britain. Shelter was set up by the Rev Bruce Kenrick after forming the Notting Hill Housing Trust in 1963. The social campaigner Des Wilson, having seen Cathy Come Home, became pivotal in the development of Shelter. Bishop Eamon Casey was also a founder of Shelter while chaplain to Irish diaspora in London.

In 2008, Shelter saw strike action by its staff in response to changes being made to their terms and conditions. Another dispute, this time over pay, occurred in 2022 prompting a two-week strike.

Financial information

For the year ended March 2017 (England)

• Total incoming resources: £60,902,000
• Total expenditure: £62,874,000
• Fundraising costs: £18,852,000
• Total cost of charitable activities: £44,022,000

Sources of funding

• Donations and legacies 54%
• Housing advice and support services 29%
• Shelter shops 14%
• Training and publications 2%
• Other 1%

An annual charity fundraising event called Vertical Rush takes place inside London's former NatWest Tower (officially Tower 42). It is a vertical run of 932 steps to the top of the tower. The 2024 event, raising money for Shelter, took place on 28 February.

See also

• Shelter Cymru
• Homelessness in the United Kingdom

References

External links

• Shelter web site
• "Shelter, National Campaign for Homeless People Limited, registered charity no. 263710". Charity Commission for England and Wales.
• Baron Pitt of Hampstead & Shelter - UK Parliament Living Heritage