Housing Justice - Rita Housing Justice - Rita

Bishop of Chelmsford’s Lent Appeal 2025

Supporting the Christian charity Housing Justice in their work across England and Wales to alleviate homelessness

This year the Bishop of Chelmsford’s Lent Appeal is raising funds to support the work of Housing Justice, a Christian charity working across England and Wales to alleviate homelessness in all its forms. Donations will be open until 1st July 2025.

This webpage explains how people, parishes and worshipping communities can support the Bishop of Chelmsford’s Lent Appeal if they would like to do so.

The Bishop of Chelmsford’s Lent Appeal 2025: Supporting Housing Justice

Housing Justice is a Christian charity that works in partnership with churches, community and faith groups across England and Wales to help provide those experiencing homelessness with a safe and stable home.

The work of Housing Justice is channelled through four main projects that aim to tackle homelessness in various ways at a grassroots level. These projects are:

Citadel

Citadel is a volunteer-led homelessness prevention project run by Housing Justice which supports people experiencing, or at risk of homelessness, to find and/or sustain their tenancies and establish a home. Working with trained volunteers, they identify each individual’s specific needs and address them together. This could include connecting them with their local community, helping them to seek meaningful employment, accessing a sport or a new hobby, or helping individuals to access the health or financial services they need.

This project began in Wales in 2020 and was expanded in 2024 to include five areas in England including London.



Click on the ‘+’ to read more about the people Housing Justice have supported through the Citadel project. 

  • Read Enid and George’s story

    Enid and George are a happily married couple (George is 90 years old and Enid is 76), who were referred to Housing Justice after they received a no-fault eviction notice from their landlord as he wanted to sell the home they had been living in for many years.

    Given their advanced years and lack of family support, being forced to move from their home was a particularly alarming prospect for the couple and their beloved old cat. A Housing Justice volunteer met with them regularly and supported them as Housing Justice tried to find alternative private rentals (which were all too expensive), or social housing (there was nothing suitable available). She helped them to resolve issues with their bank, manage difficult telephone calls, and put army veteran George in touch with a local veteran’s group which he began attending for a coffee and a chat.

    As time went on, George’s health deteriorated and moving house became less and less practical, and it became apparent that the landlord may be prepared to let them stay if they could pay more rent. Housing Justice arranged for a welfare rights officer to attend their home to go through their finances and ensure they were claiming the benefits they were entitled to, and they were delighted to find that they were able to afford the increased rent.

    Enid, George and their old cat have been able to stay in their own home and very much enjoyed having Christmas together.

Refugee Hosting and Lodgings Programmes

Housing Justice work with a pool of volunteer hosts in London and Wales who welcome vulnerable individuals into their homes. These individuals include people arriving in the UK seeking sanctuary from war or persecution, those whose asylum claims have been rejected, and those with a complicated immigration status. These individuals do not have the right to work or access benefits and they are found a safe, welcoming home.

Through this project over 37,000 nights of hosting have been provided to vulnerable and destitute asylum seekers and more than 70 guests placed since 2017 resulting in people successfully moving on to permanent accommodation.

Housing Justice also runs a Lodgings Programme for newly-granted refugees while they find a job and more permanent accommodation. This programme was established in response to the rise in newly recognised refugees being forced into homelessness and rough sleeping following an eviction from Home Office Accommodation.



Click on the ‘+’ to read more about the people Housing Justice have supported through Refugee Hosting.  

  • Read Rita’s story

    Rita comes from a small town in Ukraine where she worked as a reporter for a local newspaper. She got married and had a child and they had a happy life together until Russia invaded. In September 2022, Russia began bombing her town and she took the heartbreaking decision to leave her home and husband, and escaped to the safety of Wales with her young son.

    Following the end of their hosting placement, Rita was referred to Housing Justice for support. She was transferred to temporary accommodation in a hotel and while she was grateful to the council for housing them, it was completely unsuitable for her four-year-old son.

    Housing Justice managed to secure a hosting placement for them with a host who had a separate two-bedroom annex where the pair could live so long as they paid their own bills. Rita was able to do this and was supported with setting up the necessary accounts, and they are now happy and settled in their new home. They have made friends and applied for a school place, and Rita is volunteering as an interpreter while we help her to find a paid job.

Click on the ‘+’ to read more about the people Housing Justice have supported through Refugee Lodgings.

  • Read Roya’s Story

    Roya arrived in the UK in 2021 to seek asylum from the crises and conflict in her home country of Afghanistan. Roya studied a Master’s degree in Business Management while her asylum application was being assessed.

    Roya’s asylum application was eventually approved, meaning she was granted refugee status and could now work. Though wonderful news for Roya, newly granted refugees are evicted from their asylum accommodation 28 days after gaining refugee status. With such little time to find a home to rent, and with no financial history in the UK for a guarantor or proof of income, Roya was at risk of rough sleeping.

    Enter Maggie, a compassionate and well-travelled Resident Landlord with a heart for helping others. Maggie, who has volunteered in conflict zones like Palestine and Colombia, opened her home to Roya in June through the Housing Justice Refugee Lodgings project.

    From the very start, Roya and Maggie formed a beautiful bond. Maggie introduced Roya to her local yoga group in the park, and Roya quickly fell in love with the practice, describing the experience as making her feel “internally happy.” Beyond sharing yoga, the two have enjoyed many meaningful conversations and moments together, creating a warm, welcoming atmosphere that Roya calls home.

    Roya has since started full-time work at a company that supports Afghans with ESOL (English for Speakers of other Languages) courses and interpretation services. Roya has been described as an “invaluable asset” to the company, a testament to her hard work and the stability she has found through her placement with Maggie.

    Maggie’s story is an example of the incredible impact Resident Landlords can have. Not only has she provided a safe and supportive home for Roya, but she’s also gained a wonderful new friendship and enriched her own life through this unique experience.

Faith in Affordable Housing

Housing Justice works with churches of all denominations to release surplus land and redundant buildings for the creation of new truly affordable housing.

The Winter Night Shelter Network

Housing Justice has helped over 1,000 churches to respond to homelessness in their local area by supporting them to set up and operate a winter night shelter for people who would otherwise be rough sleeping.

With an estimated 3,898 people sleeping rough each night in England and homelessness and rough sleeping on the rise, the work of faith and community projects like those run by Housing Justice are vital. Without this work, it’s estimated the rough sleeper count would be 22% higher.

Speaking about this year’s Bishop’s Lent Appeal, The Right Reverend Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, The Bishop of Chelmsford said:

“The funds raised through the 2025 Bishop’s Lent Appeal will help support the Christian charity Housing Justice and their work providing a community-driven and innovative response to homelessness and those in housing need. Their approach gives individuals the opportunity not only to find suitable accommodation, but to create a home and a sense of belonging. I’m pleased that through this year’s Lent Appeal, we will contribute to the variety of projects run by Housing Justice, some of which are happening in areas of our Diocese.”

You can read more about the the work of Housing Justice on the link below:


Help us spread the word: Resources for churches and individuals

If you would like to support this year’s Bishop’s Lent Appeal there are a number of ways you can do so:

Share on social media

If you would like to promote the appeal through your Church or personal social media accounts, the links below contain some ideas for the copy you might use.

 

 

Share on your website and in your publications

The images below can be downloaded and used to accompany magazine or website copy. Right click on the images to save them or click on the links below.

Share in your church

Download an information leaflet to print and share with people or download and print a poster for your church or community noticeboard.

If you would like assistance with printing, The Diocesan Print Unit would be happy to provide you with a quote, contact: printunit@chelmsford.anglican.org


Making a donation 

We welcome donations to the Bishop of Chelmsford's Lent Appeal from individuals and churches as well as other groups and organisations.

Donations can be made online or by bank transfer.


Make a donation

 

If you would like to make a donation to The Bishop of Chelmsford's Lent Appeal by BACS, please use the following details:

Chelmsford Diocese Board of Finance
Barclays Bank
Sort Code: 20-20-35
Account Number: 60269603
Reference: Lent Appeal 25

Donations will be accepted until 1 July 2025.


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