Posted19.12.16
CRZero2020 countdown: the campaign response so far
The countdown to CR Zero 2020 Connections Week begins.
Over the past month, we have been recruiting local volunteers to help tackle chronic rough sleeping in Croydon by 2020.
During Connections Week, (starting Tuesday 30 August 2016), volunteers will be supported to go out onto the streets and get to know every homeless person by name. We will gather information on who’s sleeping on our streets and what they need to successfully move into accommodation. There will also be a hub running from Alexandra House on a couple of mornings where rough sleepers can finish the survey, should they wish to, and receive refreshments. This week will culminate in a public presentation of the information on Croydon’s chronic rough sleepers in central Croydon on 3 September.
So far, we have had over 80 volunteers sign up to help with the Connections Week and we are extremely grateful for their time and commitment to ending chronic street homelessness in Croydon.
The campaign has been met by phenomenal enthusiasm and support from the local community and the national media.
CR Zero 2020 has been featured in The Observer, The Guardian online, Huffington Post, Inside Croydon, Croydon Radio and BBC Surrey radio.
Local businesses have been incredibly generous in their support of the campaign during our Connections Week. Pret Foundation has offered food for the training sessions for volunteers. Greggs have donated food for the hubs. Melt Van will be providing hot drinks for volunteers during the survey sessions, Road Runners mini cabs will be providing transport for volunteers and Clas Ohlson has donated clipboards for the surveys. Tibco will provide data visualisation support once we have the survey results, in order to present them at the event on Saturday 3 September.
The Twitter community has been very active in raising awareness for the campaign, councillors, local businesses, community groups and even a couple of celebrities have retweeted facts, statistics and quotes from former rough sleepers all to help promote CR Zero 2020 and to encourage people to volunteer for our Connections Week.
Individuals have also helped to spread the word by posting selfies holding cardboard signs stating ‘I’m helping to end chronic street homelessness in Croydon.’ These individuals include members of the CR Zero 2020 steering group, Evolve staff, local business owners and employees and even pets!
We would like to thank everyone who has supported the campaign so far, whether they have signed up to volunteer with the Connections Week, donated gifts-in-kind or even shared a post on social media.
We value and appreciate all the energy and effort and dedication to see chronic street homelessness eradicated in Croydon so far.
The CR Zero 2020 countdown will continue with an article covering the volunteer training that will commence next week.
To find out more about the CR Zero 2020 campaign and how to get involved, click here.
