 | |
| Founded | 1 December 1966 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Bruce Kenrick |
| Type | Not-for-profit |
| Focus | Housing andhomelessness |
| Location |
|
Area served | England andScotland |
| Revenue | £81,331,000 |
| Website | www |
Shelter is a registeredcharity that campaigns for housing justice as Shelter in England and as Shelter Scotland in Scotland. It gives advice, information, and advocacy to people and campaigns, and lobbies government and local authorities for new laws and policies. It works in partnership withShelter Cymru inWales and the Housing Rights Service inNorthern Ireland. The charity was founded in 1966 and raised 81.3 million pounds in 2023/24.[1]
The charity helps people in housing need by providing advice and practical assistance, and campaigns for better investment in housing and for laws and policies to improve the lives of homeless and badly housed people.[2]
Shelter was launched on 1 December 1966, evolving out of the work on behalf of homeless people then being carried on inNotting Hill inLondon. The launch of Shelter hugely benefited from the coincidental screening, in November 1966, of the BBCtelevision playCathy Come Home ten days before Shelter's launch. It was written byJeremy Sandford and directed byKen Loach – and highlighted the plight of the homeless in Britain.[3] Shelter was set up by the RevBruce Kenrick[4] after forming theNotting Hill Housing Trust in 1963.[5] The social campaignerDes Wilson, having seenCathy Come Home, became pivotal in the development of Shelter.[6] BishopEamon Casey was also a founder of Shelter while chaplain to Irish diaspora in London.[7] Following the success of its English counterpart, launched in 1966, Shelter brought its campaign north of the Border to Scotland in October 1968.
In 2008, Shelter saw strike action by its staff in response to changes being made to their terms and conditions.[8] Another dispute, this time over pay, occurred in 2022 prompting a two-week strike.[9]
England:
An annual charity fundraising event called Vertical Rush takes place inside London's formerNatWest Tower (officially Tower 42). It is a vertical run of 932 steps to the top of the tower.[11][12] The 2024 event, raising money for Shelter, took place on 28 February.[11]
