Is it still a big problem today? Find out here

The Homelessness Monitor: England is a key report. It’s published every year, and run by Crisis. Read the key findings, and download the executive summary or full report for the 2023 edition.

Learn what homelessness means

The sleeping bag in the shop doorway is probably the first image that comes to mind. But sleeping rough is just one aspect of homelessness. How can we understand it better?

It’s a very precise word. Homelessness simply means living without a home. And none of the following count as a home:

• Shelters

• Temporary accommodation

• Sofa surfing

• Emergency B&Bs

If you’ve visited any of the above, you’ll know that they keep out most of the cold and wet, but they are not a place you can call home. The journey to a proper home is our main focus and think of yourself as a helping hand on that journey.

The homelessness challenge

A lot of work is carried out in Oxfordshire to address homelessness, often under the public radar. Many people who were previously rough sleeping have since been helped into next-step accommodation.

But that doesn’t mean they’ve found a home. The actual number of people experiencing homelessness in Oxfordshire, rather than just people sleeping rough, has not altered significantly over the last two years.

Who is homeless?

People who are homeless are no different from you. It’s too easy to view homelessness as something ‘other’, to think in terms of tags rather than in terms of people.

It’s also common for homelessness to be viewed as an individual rather than a collective problem—a series of bad decisions or irresponsible actions. With this mindset, the only solutions are clean beds and hot meals, addressing the problem in isolation from its causes.

However, homelessness is directly linked to larger structural forces, such as rising housing costs and the strength of our social security net. Clean beds and hot meals alone do nothing to alter these grim facts.

One rough sleeper described their start in life as “the merry-go-round ride from hell that you just can’t get off”. Oxfordshire Homeless Movement will help people leave that nightmare merry-go-round.

No one wants to be defined by their difficulties rather than their aspirations and individuality. 

Rough sleeping—the tip of the iceberg

Rough sleeping is the most visible element of the homelessness jigsaw, but it's just the in-your-face part of a much bigger issue.

People often end up sleeping rough through no fault of their own, for a variety of reasons:

• Many have been left behind due to economic factors such as lack of affordable accommodation, welfare cutbacks, and cuts to services such as mental health and social care as part of the ‘austerity’ drive.

• Some homeless people endured dysfunctional and abusive childhoods.

• Several have experienced relationship breakdown, loss of work, debt, alcohol or substance misuse.

• Some homeless people have been 'looked after' for so long—in the armed forces or prison, for example—that they find it hard to adjust afterwards.

• The ‘no local connection’ policy prevents people gaining access to some services, including housing, if they have no roots in the area. Some may have moved to Oxfordshire because they found insufficient support in their previous location.

• Homelessness affects people’s physical and mental health, so the longer someone is in this situation, the greater the risks.

• Mental health issues often exacerbate other problems.

Rough sleeping—no choice?

Many people roughsleeping are keen to follow a path away from the streets and homelessness. Others become or remain homeless because that pathway represents hurdles, challenges and threats far greater than a park bench or shop doorway.

• In Oxfordshire, the services find it hard to engage with up to 40% of the people sleeping rough.

• Some have been previously let down or have no trust in the system ultimately delivering change for them, and so don’t see the point.

• Some are trying to escape or forget the traumas of their life through alcohol and/or drugs, and judge this to be easier, or preferable, to dealing with the trauma and moving on.

• Others display chaotic behaviour that makes engagement difficult. Many have mental health issues, and many have additional support needs due to substance misuse.

OHM's ultimate goal is to eliminate homelessness. To deliver empowerment, and to help people fulfil their aspirations.

Is there a better way?

There is now a new Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance. This new collaborative approach will aim to bring more integration across services with 6 local charities, including Aspire, St Mungo's, A2Dominion, Connection Support, Elmore and Homeless Oxfordshire, who are working with all local councils to prevent and reduce rough sleeping across Oxfordshire.

The Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance also works with LEAF to ensure the voices of people experiencing homelessness are central to this work.

A housing led approach—also called ‘housing first’ and ‘rapid rehousing’—operates under the belief that everyone has a right to a home. It removes the condition that someone must be tenancy ‘ready’. Our county took on this approach after a feasibility study (summary report | full report).

Oxfordshire is the first UK county to adopt the approach. Progress on delivery will be in our future news releases. (See the launch of the Alliance press release on Homeless Oxfordshire’s website.)

See also:

If you want to find out the ways in which you can help, then please pop back to our main I want to help section.

Question not answered? Choose another question—above. Alternatively, drop us a line on social media or get in touch. We will use your feedback to improve the site, and we want to hear from you.

The events in Ukraine are devastating. We stand firmly with Ukrainian refugees and believe strongly in our mission that everyone should have access to accommodation, including those who have lost or don't have access to state-funded benefits. 

Our incredible partner Asylum Welcome keep up to date on the status of Ukrainian refugees in Oxfordshire on their website blog and on social media.

If you want to help those in Ukraine and/or Ukrainian refugees, there are many different donation drop-off points across Oxfordshire. Oxford University Ukrainian Society are collecting donations at St. Antony's College Porter Lodge 24/7. If donating, please inform Porters that you would like to donate for Ukraine and you will be helped. On a national level, the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukrainian Humanitarian Appeal is highly recommended. 

Any of our partners listed below would be happy to be of support to anyone affected by this situation. 

Question not answered? Check the services listed—below, or choose another question—above. Alternatively, drop us a line on social media or get in touch. We will use your feedback to improve the site, and we want to hear from you.

Many Oxfordshire-based organisations are very concerned about homelessness in our county. Your organisation is probably one of them—but perhaps you’re not sure what to do about it.  

It’s a surprisingly short step from being concerned to taking action, we can help guide your business across the gap.

From this website you can find out how to take action, now. Everyone can help out, because the skills we’re looking for are as diverse as humanity itself. Practical, creative, hands-on, hands-off—whatever your organisation has to offer, it can make someone’s life a little bit better.

Join the Movement and make a pledge...

Here are some suggested actions your organisation can take now:

GIVE TIME

• Give your time, expertise and ideas to our partner charities who need your support. This could be as a volunteer with a partner charity or through sharing your skills. Read more about Employee Volunteering on the OCVA website

• Increase your organisation’s awareness of homelessness in Oxfordshire. Please get in touch if you would like OHM to come and talk to your business about homelessness to raise your understanding

GIVE MONEY

• Consider making OHM your charity of the year and create fundraising events yourselves. We would be happy to come and talk to you about this

• Make a one-off or regular donation

BE INVOLVED

• Sign the OHM Charter on behalf of your organisation to show your support for our campaigns and events and get in touch with your pledge(s)

• Follow us on Twitter and like our Facebook page, subscribe to receive updates from the Movement

• Download our poster to display and distribute around your workplace, or use this image as the basis of an email to your staff

• Commit to making Oxfordshire a fairer and more inclusive place to live and work:

  • recruit inclusively. Contact chris@aspireoxford.co.uk to find out more
  • improve training and educational opportunities
  • support people furthest from the labour market on their journey towards secure employment
  • procure services to support the local economy
  • look to maximize social value and
  • ensure employees have a fair and decent wage—see The Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership for more details, and sign their charter too!

Don’t let us limit your imagination! If you have an idea get in touch.

Question not answered? Check the services listed—below, or choose another question—above. Alternatively, drop us a line on social media or get in touch. We will use your feedback to improve the site, and we want to hear from you.

Our wonderful partner Crisis have offered 75 ways to prevent homelessness. Check this useful resource out to get a brief overview of what you can do to prevent homelessness. 

In your work you may come across families, young people and single person households who are homeless or may be at risk of homelessness. 

There is now an introductory course to help you offered via the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board and developed by the Oxfordshire Trailblazer Programme.

The target audience for this course is those who work in specified bodies with the Duty to Refer listed below and those in the wider services including the voluntary sector providing support and advice to households across Oxfordshire:

• Prisons

• Youth offender institutions

• Secure training centres

• Secure colleges

• Youth offending teams

• Probation services (including community rehabilitation companies)

• Jobcentre Plus

• Social service authorities

• Emergency departments

• Urgent treatment centres

• Hospitals in their function of providing inpatient care

Please note that you need to register on the website to access this course.

You may also be interested to read about the Oxford Inclusive Economy Partnership. See below.

Question not answered? Choose another question—above. Alternatively, drop us a line on social media or get in touch. We will use your feedback to improve the site, and we want to hear from you.

We want to hear from you if you want to help in another way that isn’t listed. We will try and respond as soon as possible and will use your feedback to improve the site. Please drop us a line on social media or get in touch.

We really want to know if you’ve got an idea to share. We are looking for innovative ways to prevent, reduce and end street homelessness. Please get in touch or drop us a line on social media.

Question not answered? Check the services listed—below, or choose another question—above. Alternatively, drop us a line on social media or get in touch. We will use your feedback to improve the site, and we want to hear from you.

If you believe someone’s health is in immediate danger, please call 999.

If you want to read about some practical ways to support someone sleeping rough, see how to help someone rough sleeping in Oxfordshire.

To advise someone sleeping rough about where to get something to eat, a change of clothes or even just some company, see daily services.

See also

General guidance

Question not answered? Check the services listed—below, or choose another question—above. Alternatively, drop us a line on social media or get in touch. We will use your feedback to improve the site, and we want to hear from you.

Donate useful items in good condition. This is one of many ways to help. We can only solve homelessness by working together.

You can contact all of the services below to ask about current opportunities to donate stuff. We have also created a concise list of what some of our partners are currently accepting and where to drop-off donations.

If you want to donate items frequently and in response to demands, please join the Facebook group(s) of Helping Oxfordshire Homeless Collaboration who have donation points across Oxfordshire and also run an Amazon wish list.

Question not answered? Check the services listed—below, or choose another question—above. Alternatively, drop us a line on social media or get in touch. We will use your feedback to improve the site, and we want to hear from you.

If you think someone’s health is in immediate danger, please call 999.

If you want to report a crime against a homeless person, please contact Thames Valley Police or Crimestoppers.

See also

General guidance

Question not answered? Check the services listed—below, or choose another question—above. Alternatively, drop us a line on social media or get in touch. We will use your feedback to improve the site, and we want to hear from you.

Volunteer and help solve homelessness by working together. There are many ways you can help.

For ease, we have created a list of specific current volunteering opportunities. Below are organisations which tend to offer ongoing volunteering opportunities for individuals. Information about Employee Volunteering for businesses is available on the OCVA website.

If you are interested in helping people with their mental health then please take a look at this OMHP leaflet on volunteering.

Question not answered? Check the services listed—below, or choose another question—above. Alternatively, drop us a line on social media or get in touch. We will use your feedback to improve the site, and we want to hear from you.

Thank you for your kindness.

Help us create homes, a community, and a future for the people we support

Our partners already deliver hard-hitting local projects, bringing hope to people experiencing homelessness. Our role is to bring greater visibility to all of Oxfordshire's work in this area, guiding volunteers, supporters and people experiencing homelessness. Our project work focuses on filling critical gaps in services that others can't.

If you would like to give to OHM, you can donate online, by cheque or BACS, and we will ensure that your money gets to where it is most needed—supporting people who have been denied a home due to their benefits status; continuing our engagement with and support of, those who have lived through the issues; and aiding our partners in their work to make houses into homes.

To send a cheque, please make it payable to Oxfordshire Homeless Movement and post it to OHM, PO BOX 941, Oxford OX1 9TQ.

To donate via BACS please contact us.

We are also able to collect Gift Aid, so please do complete the Gift Aid Form and post to us.

With core running costs paid for by a private donor, every penny of your help goes direct to one of our projects, ensuring more people in Oxfordshire have a place to call home, a community, and a future.

• £10 could help someone rebuild their life by making it to vital appointments
• £30 could enable someone to be self-sufficient in their new home
• £50 could help someone recover from the trauma of homelessness with emotional support and guidance

Thank you so much for your support.

You can also donate money directly to any of our brilliant partner organisations and the ones listed below would all be very happy to accept your donation.

See also

Read more about the impact of your donations
I want to help as a business or organisation

We really want to hear from you if you have experiences to share. There are a ways to become involved in our work and we want people with lived experience to be at the heart of shaping what we do.

Please email hello@ohmteam.org, contact us on social media, or contact the Lived Experience Advisory Forum directly.

Question not answered? Check the services listed—below, or choose another question—above. Alternatively, drop us a line on social media or get in touch. We will use your feedback to improve the site, and we want to hear from you.