Crisis support for friend facing homelessness

Hello there,

I'm supporting someone who I have known for 15 years who is currently experiencing an overwhelming crisis. They deserve privacy and dignity, so I will not be naming them in this GoFundMe appeal. I appreciate that this will mean some people who would otherwise be able to help will not feel they can. That's totally understandable and ok.

If you are still willing to support, please read on.

About my friend:

This is someone I grew up with in my hometown, and who I know, love and trust deeply. They have faced some really tough stuff, and always insist on being self-reliant.

My friend is hard-working, kind and caring. They have dropped everything to help me in the past, to support their own communities and causes they believe in, and always help their friends (and feral cats!) in times of need. They deserve all of that love to come back around.

My friend is currently facing:

- a chronic mental health crisis which means they are written off work for the short to mid-term, putting them in an unmanageable financial situation

- they have no safe places/ fallback options to turn to for support due to past trauma

- extreme financial precariousness

Critically, they have become street homeless in the past week.

(Down with landlords, shame on the tories - etc etc - I am furious).

It is currently dropping below zero at night in London.

They are known by services to be street homeless and unable to work, yet the services that are supposed to protect them have been let down after let down.

I have witnessed first hand as we've tried to navigate every service available, and how these places we are told will support us in crisis cannot and do not do that.

At this stage, I am deeply worried about my friend's well-being, safety and isolation.

This is a life-threatening situation that is urgent and critical, and requires urgent action.

That action starts with having somewhere (relatively) safer to live.

Together, we have come up with a plan that they feel happy and most comfortable with, which will provide safer housing in the mid-term compared to sleeping rough, without forcing them into further debt/ having to rely on couch-surfing and sleeping rough. This solution suits them in terms of their lifestyle, their trade and their individual needs.

They have been given an old VW camper, which now needs an MOT, a heavy service, and some insulation/ simple converting, in order to keep them safe, warmer, and with a place to keep their belongings, including the tools they use for work in the future. This mobile option will also keep them able to access the various services they use, and ensure they stay connected to community and friends.

If you know me/ trust me to handle donations anonymously on behalf of this person (which I appreciate some of you have done before for different people in need), I would be so grateful. I will handle the expenditure/ purchases from my own account, as requested by my friend.

Basic breakdown of costs:

Total costs: £2630

If the MOT/ service is less than we have estimated, or if we raise more than our goal, then we will buy a Tesco voucher for food expenses over the next six months.

Once we have raised enough funds to get the ball rolling, we will provide donors with one simple update to let you know that this plan is in action.

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I am currently also experiencing some burnout, so please allow me time to get back to you. I am limited in my capacity to communicate about this situation beyond what I am proposing above.

Big love and rage and solidarity, mutual aid forever, don't vote Tory,

Thank you!

Flo