Posted16.01.25
Fighting Homelessness, Spreading Festive Cheer: The Great Santa Challenge
Last year, a staggering 136,000 young people across the UK faced homelessness or the risk of losing their homes – equivalent to one young person every four minutes.
Homelessness among young people is often rooted in unsafe home environments or family difficulties, compounded by London’s soaring rents and the rising cost of living.
Distressingly, over 23,000 young people were estimated to be homeless this Christmas, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation, abuse, and violence. What’s more, 35% of young people reporting as homeless were not assessed when seeking help. Some were advised to return to unsafe home environments.
Vulnerable groups, such as care leavers, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and young people from ethnic minority backgrounds, are disproportionately affected.
The impacts extend beyond housing, deeply affecting mental health and emotional well-being, and loneliness often accompany homelessness, severing connections to family and friends.
With rising demand for their services and limited funding, work like ours is more important than ever. At the same time, rising costs and increased demand stretch resources and create significant challenges.
That’s why in December, we teamed up with The Great Friendship Project, an organisation set-up back in 2021 to tackle loneliness amongst young adults, through research, campaigns and community events – for their annual Great Santa Challenge on Sunday, 22nd December.
This unique event combined a scavenger hunt, a Christmas shopping spree, and a live game of Supermarket Sweep.
Armed with a present fund and wearing festive Santa hats, teams raced across London for three hours to assemble the most thoughtful sacks of gifts for young people at our services in Kensington and Chelsea, to help provide some festive cheer to our residents in London.
The event was made possible to the present fund, by generous donations worth over £1,000 from high street brands, including:
- ZARA
- Whole Foods
- John Lewis
- TKMaxx
- New Look
- Lush
- Mountain Warehouse
Over the course of the 10 incredible sacks of gifts were assembled, full of essential items and treats to brighten Christmas for our young people.
Participants went above and beyond, contacting connections, bartering for discounts, and creatively curating their sacks. The presents ranged from winter clothing and hot water bottles to arts and crafts supplies, cookbooks, and gender-neutral gifts.
The sacks of presents were then judged, with prizes for the team with the best collection of gifts.
All of the donated items were grouped into types, and those that were not too specific (food, unisex winter clothing etc.) were put into specific bundles for particular customers.
The Great Santa Challenge showcased the power of community collaboration to make a difference during the festive season. It was a reminder of the importance of ongoing support to tackle youth homelessness.
