Homelessness is a scourge on any society.  And it is on the increase.  


The numbers of rough sleepers in England went up by 16% in the last year [1] alone.  People without a home suffer more ill health, both physical and mental, and are among the most vulnerable in our society.

 

And sadly Milton Keynes is not immune to this.  In fact, MK was recently announced as having the second highest number of homeless people in the south east, behind only Brighton, with over 2300 people living on the street or in temporary accommodation [2]. 

 

Regeneration is about people first and foremost so it’s not a big leap to see why YourMK would want to support anything that alleviates the suffering experienced by those in MK who live on the streets.

 

So this December YourMK will be supporting the work of the MK YMCA.  They have started a sponsoring scheme to help young people off the street and into safe, secure accommodation.  It costs just £12 per month to help get someone off the streets. [3]  

 

Throughout December we will post pictures of the YourMK Christmas elf in various places around Milton Keynes.  Not just the seven estates we are working on but across the city.  We want you to share and like our FB posts with the picture and let us know where the elf is.  For every correct response we get we will donate £2 to the MK YMCA sponsorship appeal.  With your help we hope to raise enough money to sponsor someone for at least a year.

 

So keep an eye on our Facebook page and share the picture to increase the number of people guessing. 

 
    

[1]  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/jan/25/number-of-rough-sleepers-in-england-rises-for-sixth-successive-year

[2]  http://www.mkfm.com/news/local-news/shelter-highlights-2396-people-homeless-in-milton-keynes-and-that-may-be-an-under-estimate/

[3]  https://www.ymca.org.uk/sponsor-future1?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Desktop%20Charity%20Follower%20RR8