Homelessness is often misunderstood. It's not a 'cute' cause, so it's hard to feel empathy for something most of us are fortunate enough never to have endured. Homelessness is not suffered through choice – everyone is vulnerable.

In order to become homeless, a person has to have suffered a personal crisis. Once alone and vulnerable, the slide into a vicious downward spiral is inevitable and traumatic, bring with it a state of hopelessness most of us have never experienced. From these depths it is hard either to remember or imagine life as the rest of us know it, let alone engage positively with society.

Common reasons why people become homeless include:

• Family breakdown
• Bereavement
• Redundancy
• Leaving institutional living  (army, police, social care, prison)
• Mental illness
• Childhood abuse / domestic violence
• Substance abuse (the underlying cause of which is often one or more of the above)

The word 'home' conjures feelings of warmth, family, friendship and love. To be homeless is to be alone, with no one to care about you. Tackling homelessness is not just about providing shelter from the elements, it is about providing advice, advocacy, education and meaningful occupation, but above all, care within a community that can be called 'home'. This is what StreetSmart looks for in the projects that benefit from the campaign, and what it hopes to enable the homeless to find.

StreetSmart aims to support homeless organisations that provide the most personal and, therefore, most effective care, where a person is recognised as being an individual rather than just another statistic.  For many of these projects, especially smaller community projects, the funding StreetSmart provides is an essential lifeline.

Streetsmart provided funding to more than 90 such homeless projects last year.

And since it was established in 1998, Streetsmart has raised £2.7 million and granted funding to over 150 organisations, providing a broad range of services, support and companionship to the homeless and vulnerable across the UK.

Facts:

In 2005 local authorities found 162,990 households (not individuals) in England to be homeless and in priority need. (Crisis 2006)

&lqsuo;There are around 380,000 single homeless people in Great Britain. This includes those staying in hostels, B&B’s, squats, on friend’s floors and in overcrowded accommodation. (Crisis 2003)

A Crisis survey of 150 homeless people across the UK found that 47% possess qualifications; of these 48% have GCSE’s, 16% have A levels, 15% have a degree and 13% have professional qualifications. (Crisis 2002)