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10 OCTOBER 2024

How The Hoxton has supported homeless charity partners in the cities they call home

Having a roof over your head for the night is a basic need, but unfortunately, not everyone has access to shelter for the night. UN statistics estimate that more than 100 million people worldwide are homeless, and at least 1.5 billion people lack adequate housing.

 

Homelessness can take many forms, the most visible being those sleeping rough on the streets, but it also includes those sofa surfing and relying on friends for a roof over their heads. And sadly, the number of people affected is rising as the cost of living in many countries soars.

Since 2018, Ennismore and The Hoxton has been on a mission to reduce and alleviate homelessness in the cities we call home. As providing places to sleep, eat and work is our bread and butter, we’ve been reaching out to our community’s most vulnerable members in a plight to keep them safe and dry.

Throughout the years, Ennismore and The Hoxton have fostered relationships with local charities and community projects focused on tackling homelessness, supporting them through various initiatives such as encouraging our guests to donate at the time of booking online or within our restaurants and bars, raising money from sponsored team events including a bike ride from London to Paris, shopping events and charity runs, and providing time, expertise and money to help a London shelter move into their new home.

One of The Hoxton’s latest initiatives is Stay For A Stay. Each winter, The Hoxton donates the cost of a stay in a shelter for every room booked directly through thehoxton.com. That means, for every staycation, business trip or romantic city break taken in any Hoxton, someone struggling will be guaranteed a shower, a hot dinner and a bed for the night. It’s simple: the more stays booked, the more people helped.

More than just a warm bed for the night, shelters provide a vital stepping stone for getting people on the road to better days. Resources are dedicated to finding employment and education, health and legal advice, emotional support, and helping to secure long-term accommodation. Thankfully, many great charities have woven a net of support for those in need, aiming to catch people before they fall through the cracks.

In London, The Hoxton’s Stay For A Stay supports its long-term partner Shelter From The Storm, a free emergency night shelter that provides bed, dinner, and breakfast to people who experience homelessness every night of the year. Their vision is simple: to build a “society where charities like ours are no longer necessary.” In its other cities that Hox calls home, Stay For A Stay has supported: Aurore in Paris, Binario 95 in Rome, Het Stoelenproject in Amsterdam, L’îlot in Brussels, Arrels Fundació in Barcelona, Refugio in Berlin, Coalition for The Homeless in New York, Primo Center in Chicago, Blanchet House in Portland and Share the Warmth International in LA.

And it’s not just about money, our teams volunteer and lend a helping hand when needed. At Shelter from the Storm, the Hox team clocked over 600 hours helping to clean and maintain spaces and prepare and serve dinner to shelter guests. In Rome, team members have spent days at Orti Solidali, a place where people experiencing homelessness are able to cultivate their fruits and vegetables, and contributed to the decor of Casa Sabotino, a newly refurbished house providing shelter and support to women in need. Across the US, teams have prepared and distributed breakfast bags and wellness kits to those in need, volunteered with meal services and even hosted an art show with Portland’s Blanchet House to showcase work by houseless artists.

There is a lot of work to be done to break the cycle of homelessness globally to ensure those experiencing it are fully supported. Our communities need help now more than ever, which is why The Hoxton is reviving its Stay for a Stay initiative to support our local homeless shelters in 2024.

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