At Mustard Tree, we meet people every day who ask us what they can do to help those who are homeless and experiencing hardship.

Are you one of those people who want to do something? Maybe you hate walking past someone in the rain, but feel like you want to do more than offer somebody a cup of tea?

This world homelessness day we are inspired by David*, who came to us on this day last year for some dry clothes, having been sleeping rough for three months. Soaking wet, we asked him if he wanted a cup of tea, but he said he said he was so fed up with people giving him a tea…turns out he was lactose intolerant and no one had once thought to ask what he’d like. It really made us think that it must be soul destroying to have people decide what they think you need.

Here at Mustard Tree we have trained staff who can help with all sorts of issues, whether that’s with mental health, accommodation, or helping people to gain confidence, skills and to find work. David now has somewhere to live, and is studying while working part-time. Rather than just a brew, you can help join us to make a real difference – starting today…

Today, we are looking to recruit 200 champions who can make sure that when people come to us for help – they find the support and expertise they need to improve their life – for good.

If just 200 people can make the pledge of donating £10 per month each, it could cover the cost of one of our trained support workers. Our support team work with hundreds of people every year, for as long as they need, to create opportunities for people like David to escape poverty and homelessness for good.

If you can join us, please complete a Regular Giving Form and email back to jack.barton@mustardtree.org.uk, or click here to set up a regular gift online.

We need your help today, as inequality, poverty and homelessness is on the rise. Newly published ONS stats show that outside of London, the North West had the highest number of deaths of homeless people in 2018, whereas the number of destitute families living in Manchester’s B&Bs has tripled in five years.

THANK YOU so much for enabling us to respond to this growing need, and for your help in combatting poverty and preventing homelessness across Greater Manchester.

*To protect identities, we sometimes (as in this case) change people’s names.