Working to prevent homelessness with Shelter

Supporting Shelter's mission

We believe that having a safe home is essential in order to thrive. That’s why we’re working with Shelter to prevent homelessness in our communities, by supporting schools in our hometown of Manchester to provide assistance to families who are struggling with housing.

Over 164,000 children are experiencing homelessness right now

Many of them are living in unsafe conditions.

Over 4,500 people sleep rough on a given night in England

This number has more than doubled since 2010.

We’re working together to support families in crisis

Shelter’s @Home project aims to support families experiencing homelessness, temporary accommodation (TA), and inadequate housing by providing practical assistance, advocacy, and emotional support through schools.

What is the @Home project?

Working across Manchester, the @Home project provides direct outreach assistance to schools in deprived areas, delivering rights awareness sessions that enhance the understanding and knowledge of pastoral staff. These staff are then able to help families in crisis by educating them about their housing rights, providing essential practical support to relieve the financial pressure they’re facing, and offering school-based counselling and mentoring for emotional support.

It has prevented homelessness, reduced financial hardship, improved children’s school attendance and well-being. The project’s compassionate, hands-on approach has built trusting relationships with families and empowered many to take control of their housing situations.

How are The Co-operative Bank involved?

Since our partnership began in 2023, The Co-operative Bank and Shelter have worked together to demand an end to the housing crisis, through the campaign for fairer renting and through raising money for families forced to live in unfit temporary accommodation.

The @Home project, which provides an essential lifeline for families experiencing or at risk of homelessness, has proven to be a highly effective way to support those facing the worst of the housing crisis.

That’s why we’re funding the expansion of this project to more areas in our hometown of Manchester – helping families avoid the devastating effects of housing insecurity and homelessness.

Supporting families in crisis: an @Home project case study

One family supported by the @Home project had lived in overcrowded accommodation since 2018. The accommodation had severe disrepair, such as a leaking toilet and significant dampness. Ultimately, the family received a Section 21 eviction notice, which is also called a ‘no fault’ eviction. The family and children were moved in temporary accommodation, but this was so far from the school it made the children reluctant to attend.

“We were uncertain about where to seek help or find information. We struggled to understand housing rights and identify suitable support services until the school helped by us, they explained our rights, they worked with us to contact the right people and were with us every step of the way”

“The children felt scared after relocating, but now feel relaxed, happy, and supported both in and out of school.”

Even though the family is still living in temporary accommodation, the school’s support through guidance from Shelter has significantly improved their situation.

Our campaign for fairer renting

In 2023, The Co-operative Bank and Shelter joined forces to demand fairer renting. With over 900,000 private renters at risk of losing their homes, we campaigned together to end unfair ‘no fault evictions’, and to secure stronger rights for renters.

We called upon the government to introduce robust legislation which would give tenants in private rented properties the right protections. So that they could feel securely rooted in their communities without having the worry about being unfairly evicted.

The Renters’ Rights Bill has since been made law, with the potential to improve the lives of 11 million private renters across England.

Learn more about Shelter

As well as campaigning on important housing issues, Shelter also provides help to people in precarious housing, including:

emergency helpline and webchat services for people who are homeless, have nowhere to stay for a night, or are worried about losing their home
housing advice, including information on housing rights and practical steps to take
legal aid legal services for eligible people who need to challenge decisions made by councils or landlords, or to go to court about housing problems.

If you want to learn more or find a way to offer your support, there are so many ways you can get involved with Shelter.

Shelter, the National Campaign for Homeless People Limited 2023. Registered charity in England & Wales (263710) and Scotland (SC002327).

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