That’s a wrap for 2024!

We’ve seen an incredible year of action, fundraising and visibility to the mission and vision we all stand behind: a city-region where no one should have to spend a night on the streets, where everyone has a place to call home. We exist to be a lifeline to organisations on the frontline of the homelessness and housing crisis. We cannot be that without you, and you have stood with us once again.

2024 has been a year of challenge and change. We have seen record breaking numbers of children in temporary accommodation, with nearly 160,000 children facing Christmas without a secure home. 7,896 of those children are in Greater Manchester. At the same time, too many people have been forced to spend a night on the streets. In September of this year, the number of people our city-regions Local Authorities saw rough sleeping has doubled since 2022.

The housing crisis has reduced access to genuinely affordable homes. An accelerated asylum process leaves people with too little time to find accommodation after their claims are processed. And, the sustained high costs of living continues to add to the pressure, making life harder for those facing hardship and poverty.

But, there is a solution.

We know A Bed Every Night works. It has reduced rough sleeping by 45% since it’s launch, and is premised on the principle that no one should have to spend a night on the streets, no matter who they are. However, if we are to do all that we can at the city-region level to ensure homelessness is only ever rare, brief, and non-recurrent, we can’t stop at emergency response.

In Autumn this year, we launched our first small grants programme, assigning £50k to distribute in grants of up to £10k each. The response to this programme was extremely positive, highlighting the breadth of activity across Greater Manchester all focused on ending homelessness. Earlier in December, we were pleased to announce six awards under this scheme, from emergency response to targeted prevention. Congratulations to our recipients, and we look forward to showcasing the impact of their work in the new year.

Our grantee announcement coincided with news of the largest-ever cash boost to help turn the tide on homelessness and a revitalised Government commitment to homelessness prevention. The approach resonates with that of Greater Manchester, but to truly end homelessness, must sit alongside a significant expansion of social housing and genuinely affordable housing. As others in the system have rightly pointed out, you can’t solve homelessness without homes.

Our grant-making and support to the homelessness ecosystem of Greater Manchester depends on our fundraising and your support. In 2024, we saw our calendar of events continue to grow from strength to strength. The Mayoral DJ Battle returned once more, taking it’s turn in Liverpool’s Camp and Furnace while the 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness entered it’s 6th edition. That event alone has been a huge talking point, and we celebrate the achievements of Thomas Lewis and his co-organisers. With the support of Together, it raised over £53,000 in 2024 – more than double the previous five years of events. All eyes will be on 2025’s run!

From music to runs, we saw a lot in between. With the support of AO Arena, our gala dinner grew once more, while the second edition of the Bus Pull under the headline sponsorship of We Are Footprint doubled in size and fundraising. We marked World Homeless Day with Joe McGrath heading up an unmissable GREATer Manchester Pub Quiz in collaboration with JW Lees, and welcomed 68 children from schools of the region to an inspirational hackathon with Microsoft, Shelter and Clear Channel for the culmination of 2024’s ‘Show Me Home’.

Alongside our fundraisers, 2024 saw 6 of our policy roundtables. From apprenticeships to independent living programmes, hospitality to housing, the roundtables have been a platform for new partnerships, collaboration and action. The calendar closed by an afternoon with the region’s construction leaders and City Mayor Paul Dennett asking how do we unlock delivery of social housing. We’re looking forward to 2025’s events, from fundraisers to advocacy all centred on the goal of ending homelessness and eradicating the need for rough sleeping.

All that’s left for us to say in 2024 is a huge, heartfelt thank you to all who have donated, supported and advocated for us. From our headline partners Suez and JCDecaux, to all who nominate us as Charity of the Year, sponsor or join our events and donate to our campaigns, we cannot do it without you.

However you support us, we thank you.

Here’s to 2025. Together, we can end homelessness.