A CAMPAIGN calling on people to help the homeless in Oxfordshire this winter has raised a grand total of £60,000. The Oxfordshire Homeless Movement has run a winter campaign for the last three years, backed by the Oxford Mail. This year, the charity which co-ordinates efforts to help rough sleepers find a home received £40,000 in donations from people across the county, topped up by a further £20,000 of match funding from the Oxfordshire Community Foundation. Among those who have helped include web design agency Versantus, which donated money it would usually spend on Christmas festivities, and local residents who gave at community celebrations such as a Christmas lights event in Besselsleigh.
A NEW project funded by public donations could help bring an end to rough sleeping in Oxfordshire. During the pandemic, councils and voluntary organisations in Oxfordshire were moved to find temporary accommodation for over 200 people who were sleeping rough. These people were safer, and were then able to get help with rebuilding their lives. The Oxfordshire Homeless Movement which co-ordinates efforts to help the homeless thinks they could end homelessness in Oxfordshire as a result of this work, which relies on a housing first approach . But due to the uncertainty over how long cash will last to help rough sleepers there is a risk some will return to the streets.