The Gatehouse aims to raise £10,000 to support the homeless community
Donations will go toward its Community Centre and Cafe and the services they provide
The Gatehouse, a charity that supports individuals experiencing homelessness, has launched its Winter Appeal, aiming to raise £10,000 from November to February 2026 for its Community Centre and Café.
The charity located in Oxford has supported those who are homeless, vulnerably housed or have low/ no incomes for over 30 years. They provide numerous services such as one-on-one support from trained caseworkers, showers and donated clothing projects.
David Kay, the fundraising manager from the Gatehouse, says the demand for services tends to increase during the Winter months.
He emphasises the inequalities that those experiencing homelessness face, like social isolation and health issues. “Each guest has a different, individual set of challenges, and we provide long-term, bespoke support through our casework and counselling teams to help achieve these aims.”
He adds that there are a variety of factors that have caused homelessness to increase significantly, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and, more recently, the cost-of-living crisis. Due to this, there has been a 128% increase in the number of households requiring homelessness support over the past 3 years- making the efforts of charities like the Gatehouse even more important.
The community centre and cafe offer free services that provide essential support and opportunities for personal development to their guests. The clothes store provides toiletries, sleeping bags and survival kits. Additionally, there are occasional visits from podiatrists and hairdressers and IT access and advice. A £10 donation will provide a meal a day for one guest for a week, and a £20 donation includes showers and clothes.
In addition to practical support, The Gatehouse also provides important emotional support and a sense of community. David said, “Offering a safe and welcoming environment where people can socialise is another important facet of our support. In addition, our casework team and counsellors regularly deal with issues such as loneliness, isolation and as a result depression. This emotional support can mean as much to our guests as the practical support we also provide.”
When asked about the rewarding areas of working in this sector, David said that for staff it is, “probably seeing a guest who has come to the Gatehouse in a state of real need and not knowing what to do, develops an ability to help themselves out of that state over a length of time, such that they resolve all of their main issues and no longer require our support.”
The previous Winter Appeal in 2024 raised more than £20,000, which was more than double their target.
If you would like to donate and support the Gatehouse, the Winter Appeal 2025 Just Giving page is linked below.
https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/winterappeal25-26