Dear Editor, Christmas is approaching fast and I am a little unprepared this year due to a new addition to the family.
What with last-minute shopping and organising the Christmas dinner things can get hectic, so when the big day comes I’m looking forward to relaxing with friends and family.
Yet after a difficult year in which many people have lost their jobs, thousands of families will have the shadow of repossession hanging over them. In Birmingham alone, 575 households are at serious risk of losing their home.
Worse still are the 507 homeless households in Birmingham trapped in temporary accommodation, whose only wish is for a secure home of their own. Many more families will be in housing that is damp, overcrowded or in disrepair.
This year, we can all do something to help by making sure that these families can access the advice and support they need. By buying items from Marks and Spencer’s Food to Go range you will be donating five per cent of the sale to the housing charity Shelter.
Over the past five years, M&S customers have helped to raise more than
£2.5 million for Shelter. As little as £10 pays for an emergency call to Shelter’s free housing advice helpline and £100 could pay for a Shelter adviser to give specialist face-to-face support for a family threatened by homelessness.
Please spare a thought this Christmas for those in housing need and support this partnership.
Samia Smith
Shelter
