Birmingham Christmas Shelter gears up to welcome more than 200 people a day this festive season

This year the shelter at St Catherine of Siena Primary School is expecting to feed 220 people every day from Christmas Eve until December 28, with 250 guests expected for Christmas dinner. 

It comes as new research from homelessness charity Shelter has revealed that Birmingham has one of the highest homelessness rates in England. Using latest data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Shelter's analysis reveals 19,518 people were homeless in Birmingham as of June, which corresponds to one in 61 people in the area.

Over the four days it’s open, the Birmingham Christmas Shelter will be offering three hot meals a day, somewhere to sleep, and wash facilities provided by the ShowerBox charity. Local service providers will also be on site offering footcare, hairdressing, holistic therapies, beauty treatments and consultations to help people find accommodation. Volunteer DJ’s, comedians, singers and bands are also set perform across the week.

Simon Rixon, one of the trustees at the shelter, says demand at the shelter, which first opened in 1974, remains high due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, unaffordable private rents, a shortage of social homes, and the housing benefit freeze.

Shelter's latest analysis has found that of the homeless people in Birmingham, around 19,459 were living in temporary accommodation, while the charity estimates 59 were sleeping on the streets based on Autumn 2024 data. The charity estimates that more than 382,000 people across England, including over 175,000 children, will spend this Christmas without a home.

Simon said: “The Birmingham Christmas Shelter is a vital resource for struggling families, at a time when many other services are shut. The number of provisions we need and the number of volunteers we need is continuing to grow year on year.”

In a bid to help boost funding and ensure the shelter has enough provisions to support everyone who comes through its doors this Christmas, Simon is appealing for more supporters to raise donations through the easyfundraising website and app where Birmingham Christmas Shelter is a registered cause. 

Once supporters have signed up and chosen Birmingham Christmas Shelter as their cause the retailers they shop with via the easyfundraising website – from M&S to Just Eat- will automatically donate a percentage of their purchase to the shelter without adding any extra expense to their bill. 

Simon says: “The money we get from easyfundraising helps us to give someone, who may be lonely or desperate, somewhere to go on Christmas Day. If people spend a pound here and there doing their Christmas shopping it all adds up.” 

The Birmingham Christmas Shelter has raised more than £3,600 through supportive shoppers on easyfundraising. Support the work of the charity with every online shop here.