A Cambridge Homelessness Partnership
By Hema Tasker
Statistics indicate that there are 160 homeless people in the city centre, of which 130 are in temporary accommodation. This means that one would expect there only to be 30 homeless people with nowhere to go at night. Walking down Mill Road one questions this statistic. Some street people shy away from Jimmy’s as they need to hand over “details” – while others are fiercely independent in their response to welfare cuts, job loss and possibly addiction.
I had the pleasure to chat to Lee outside the church who explained how he wanted to change his life and liked to say “I’m homeless but not phoneless”.
Lee has, with the help of the people around him, managed to set up his own business: It Takes A City – A Cambridge Homelessness Partnership. He patiently explained why he advocates for It Takes a City. Looking at this website I can finally answer the question how can I help? Well click on It Takes a City and find out who you can donate tampons, socks and furniture to. Or how you can cater for an event, or get your garden cleaned, while developing skills for homeless people in Cambridge through various social enterprises.
Hema Tasker
ehcpservices
STEAM and SEND specialist tutoring and consultancy services
This post is an edited version of an article in Mill Road News Nº25 Early Spring 2020.