Charity groups Crisis and Housing Justice say that volunteering over the Christmas season and beyond can play a vital role in alleviating the problems of the capital's homeless and addressing key housing concerns.
In spite of assurances by government, rough sleeping by homeless people is still a significant problem in Britain's towns and cities say campaigners, following a head count in the nation's capital.
A new website called 'Faith in Affordable Housing' is being launched today at Church House Westminster, headquarters of the Church of England.It aims to help churches use land and property to meet housing needs.
Housing Justice, the churches housing campaign, is encouraging UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to move quickly to allow local councils to build more homes to meet urgent needs.
St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London and campaigning network Housing Justice will next week hold an Annual Service of Commemoration for those homeless people who have died in the capital in the past year.
In the inaugural Housing Justice lecture, the charity's chief executive Alison Gelder has spoken of the need to change the values of society so that we think of houses as homes rather than assets.
In the early hours of Tuesday 9 September 2008, volunteers from Christian charity Housing Justice counted 206 people sleeping rough in the London Borough of Westminster - highlighting the continuing seriousness of the problem.
Housing Justice is providing this one day training workshop on homelessness and related issues, which is particularly relevant for volunteers in homelessness agencies, churches and faith groups, conce