Clarion Housing Group raises record sum for St Mungo’s

Staff at Clarion Housing Group have raised £117,745 for homelessness charity, St Mungo’s in the past year. This figure is more than double the amount raised in 2020-21, as part of a major partnership with the charity.

For over 50 years, St Mungo’s has been at the forefront of efforts to tackle homelessness, supporting people at every step of their recovery. Each day and night the charity’s outreach teams go out to help people sleeping rough to move away from the streets, providing a bed and vital support to thousands of people.

Clarion’s charity partnership with St Mungo’s has gone from strength to strength since it began in 2020, working together to help realise the charity’s vision of everyone having a place to call home and being able to fulfil their hopes and ambitions.

Clarion staff arranged a series of successful fundraising events in 2021-22, with the money raised helping to fund St Mungo’s Recovery College which provides an inclusive learning, training and employment service, making a real difference to people’s recovery and wellbeing.

Some Clarion staff conquered their fear of heights, abseiling 114 metres down the ArcelorMittal Orbit in the Olympic Park to raise funds for St Mungo’s. Others took part in a virtual race on foot and by bike, with more than 60 people covering 18,000 miles between them and raising almost £2,000.

As well as fundraising, a number of Clarion staff volunteered to help St Mungo’s during 2021-22. Clarion’s executive team led by example, with Clare Miller, Chief Executive, Michelle Reynolds, Chief Customer Officer, and Richard Cook, Group Director of Development, among those who volunteered to do outreach shifts. This involved spending time walking the streets early in the morning or late at night searching for people sleeping rough and offering help and support alongside a trained St Mungo’s professional.

The partnership has also provided many opportunities for Clarion to pool its skills and knowledge with St Mungo’s. The charity has delivered HomelessWise training to almost 400 of Clarion’s frontline staff to date, helping to support vulnerable people off the streets and connect them to local services that can help.

In addition, Clarion has worked with St Mungo’s to provide four new homes in Hackney for people who have been sleeping rough. This is being done under the Housing First approach to tackling homelessness based on the principle that people need a secure and stable home first, from which they can rebuild their lives. St Mungo’s HomelessWise delivered training to staff on how to manage these sensitive tenancies using the principles of Housing First.

Michelle Reynolds, Chief Customer Officer at Clarion Housing Group, said:

“Our belief that homes are the foundations on which lives are built, and our mission to provide homes for those who need them most, means that our partnership with St Mungo’s has special importance for us. We’re delighted with the progress we’ve made over the past year in helping St Mungo’s to make a real difference in tackling homelessness.”

She added: “For all the achievements of our partnership, this year has also been a very sad one, with the sad passing of Steve Douglas, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s. Our thoughts are with Steve’s family, friends and colleagues. He was an inspirational figure in the housing sector, and will be missed.”

Rebecca Sycamore, interim Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, said:

“We are delighted to be working with Clarion Housing Group and have built a meaningful partnership together with them over the last two years.

“We are thankful to all their dedicated staff who have a shared commitment to providing homes for those who are homeless with the aim of supporting them off the streets for good.

“We could not do all the good work without the support of our fantastic partners and look forward to continuing to work with Clarion Housing Group in the future.”