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Check out our most recent newsletter for all the updates on what’s been happening at Street Storage.
Visits from our amazing funders!
In October, we welcomed the fantastic Aspen Insurance team to our new site in Kings Cross. Already one of our valued corporate funders, Aspen volunteers also rolled their sleeves up across three days in April, helping us with the big move from our previous location. Their hands-on assistance was invaluable, and we couldn’t have managed it without them: they built shelving, lugged furniture and handled people's belongings to and from the sites with great respect and care. We were thrilled to finally show them around and share the impact their support has made.
A few months ago, we also welcomed Laura from IslingtonGiving to our site. She joined us for a tour and a more in depth catch-up with our team.
She shared these thoughtful words about her experience: " -your service meets people who are often forced into undignified situations and treats them with dignity, you create a space for them to have normal experiences that many people take for granted; a comfortable seat, a coffee, some privacy, human contact. You store their precious belongings with dignity, too. You give them ownership, a bit of power in a powerless moment, to keep things that are meaningful to them safe. Spaces like yours, which provide something that meets an immediate practical need are vital for people to have a reason to come along to start with, and from that place; having an urgent concern alleviated, being reminded of their humanity, other aspects of life are given the opportunity to flourish.
So much more than shelves!"
Every aspect of Street Storage - from the language we use to the layout of each area - is intentionally designed to foster comfort, privacy, and respect. It’s wonderful when our funders can visit in person and gain real insight into these details.
Thank you, Aspen Insurance and IslingtonGiving, for your support and we look forward to your next visit!
If you are a prospective funder, or represent a funder who has supported us in the past and would like to visit our new site, please contact Simon on simon.webb@streetstorage.org
#TeamStreetStorage overseas
29th of September 2024
We are incredibly proud to share that Kiran has successfully completed the Berlin Marathon in support of Street Storage. Despite facing two leg injuries in the lead-up to the event, Kiran's determination never waivered. He joined an incredible 54,280 finishers in one of the world’s largest marathons: we can only imagine what the atmosphere must have been like!
While dedicating himself to marathon training, Kiran has also been hard at work as a trustee for Street Storage. Most recently he's been supporting our Director Rachel Woolf with some changes and updates to the charity's GDPR and Data Protection processes.
Thank you Kiran for all your hard work and for the generosity of all those who donated in support!
A Terrific Duo!
14th of September 2024
Susie Durgan and Ben Till have recently completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge! This is a 24-mile (38.6km) round-trip route with 1,585m (5,200ft) of ascent. The challenge is difficult as it is and in addition the pair encountered fierce weather on their journey, all to raise money for Street Storage. We couldn’t be more grateful for their incredible efforts!
This isn’t the first time Susie has joined #TeamStreetStorage. With two previous marathons under her belt, she has rallied her friends, family, and work colleagues multiple times to support Street Storage by sponsoring her runs. What a woman!
Whether you choose to do a sponsored run, walk, bake sale, or come up with something else, your efforts make a huge difference in the lives of the people who use Street Storage. By supporting us, you are helping our efforts to relieve both the physical and emotional burden of managing your belongings when experiencing homelessness.
If you’ve sponsored Susie’s run, check out our newsletters to read the section #StoriesBehindTheStorage, where we share real examples of how Street Storage helps so many people.
🎉Happy Birthday Us 🎉
24th of July 2024
On July 19th 2024, we were five years young!
For five years, we've been dedicated to providing safe, free, and accessible storage to those experiencing homelessness, and we continue to be the only organisation providing this in the UK.
We've backed and shouted about national and local campaigns and supported hundreds of individuals in various ways - through storage (obviously), but also one to one advocacy and support as well as emergency health and outreach intervention.
Take a moment to watch our little video marking this milestone!
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of this journey for their encouragement - too many to name, but you all know who you are and in what capacity.
We are humbled and proud of the last five years and what we have been able to achieve, but are also frustrated and angry that five years is five years too many.
A new chapter for Street Storage, part 2: Islington Giving
27th of June 2024
Another major contributor to our milestone move was Islington Giving, who provided us with a grant aimed at improving mental health and wellbeing. Their generosity, along with contributions from our other funders (some mentioned here!), has enabled us to move into a new unit specifically designed to enhance wellbeing and foster positive change.
Our new space offers additional storage, allowing more people to store their belongings with us, thereby alleviating the immense physical and mental burden of carrying their possessions everywhere they go. The thoughtful design includes a larger office and private rooms, giving our storage and outreach managers a dedicated space for one-on-one support and private check-ins for belongings—something we couldn't achieve in our previous unit due to its limited layout and lack of privacy.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to Islington Giving for believing in our vision and supporting our mission. Their commitment to improving lives through better environments and empowering our team is truly appreciated.
Photos taken and collated by Islington Giving at a recent funder session that our Fundraising Manager Simon went to (seen bottom left). Click on the image to see their original post.
A new chapter for Street Storage, part 1: Thanks to Clothworkers’ and Streets of London
13th of June 2024
Two months into our new location and the feedback from people using Street Storage has been overwhelmingly positive. This milestone move was made possible by a generous one off capital grant from The Clothworkers' Foundation and additional funding from Streets of London, awarded in Spring 2023.
The transformative grant from The Clothworkers' Foundation has allowed us to fit out our new space, creating a warm and welcoming environment for people using our service. While we have spent some of this funding on significant, essential, large additions like furniture and equipment, it's actually the small additions that we’re making - like purchasing plants - that have already had a significant impact on how people feel in our new home.
Our work environment has also been through a substantial glow up thanks to this funding, which has enabled us to acquire proper office desks, chairs, storage shelving and new IT equipment for our team. Working with rooms that are a blank canvas has allowed our imaginations to run wild.
Streets of London also played a crucial role in this transition, making it smooth and efficient by funding the essential transport costs for the move. As a result, we were able to hire large lorries and skilled staff, enabling us to complete the entire move in just two days! Without their support, the logistical challenge of relocating would have been insurmountable. Their contribution ensured we could transport everything swiftly and securely to our new home.
This has been Street’s Storage’s most significant development to date. This transformation allows us to meet the growing demand for our services and adapt to future challenges.
Thank you for helping us continue our mission. We are so grateful.
We've moved!
6th of May 2024
By January of this year, we were certain the time had come to find a new base location for our offices and main storage unit. With 474 requests to store received throughout 2023, we knew we simply no longer had capacity to sustain the service at our Hackney location.
After an extensive search, we finally found the perfect fit for us in King's Cross. In just two short days in April, we successfully moved over 900 items belonging to around 175 people, as well as our office furniture. Fortunately, we didn't undertake this endeavour alone; we had the amazing help of the Aspen volunteer team, including Zivanayi, Natasha, Paul, Elsie, Debra, Frank, Ellie, Helen, and George, along with other other volunteers who generously gave their time: Geordie, Gary, Seth, and Ric.
Street Storage is immensely grateful for the time and effort everyone has put in to make this transition as smooth (and enjoyable!) as possible.
Some key features of our new unit include:
a larger storage space, supporting up to 400 people
a private room for one-on-one sessions
a relaxation area equipped for charging phones and sorting through belongings.
a better office space for our growing staff team
better facilities all round!
Thanks to the support of our brilliant funders and people who have encouraged us along the way, we are excited to now offer all the above and settle down into our new home.
If you'd like to support us further as we embark on this new phase in our journey, please see our Fundraising or Donate page. Thank you :)
Mandip and Aspen Insurance’s Charity Fast
1st May 2024
During last month's Ramadan, Mandip Baga organised a charity fast at her workplace, Aspen Insurance, one of our corporate supporters. Colleagues were given the option to participate in the fast or contribute through donations.
Mandip and her colleagues raised an amazing £225 over March/April. Aspen Insurance has generously matched this amount, bringing the total to £550.
We thought this was such a creative way to fundraise as well as build a sense of community by bringing people together. This has really inspired us, and we hope it inspires others too.
A heartfelt thank you to Mandip and the Aspen Insurance Group for organising this effort; we are immensely grateful.
Coming on Board in Spring 2024…
17th April 2024
We're thrilled to announce that Kiran Mistry and Faizaan Sami have recently joined our Trustee Board, expanding our team to seven members with a diverse set of professional backgrounds and great experience.
Kiran has over a decade of professional work in Data and Compliance, making his advice and guidance around GDPR invaluable. Not only does he have extensive knowledge, but he also has a passion for running - and lucky for us, he’ll be running the Berlin marathon in September and raising funds for Street Storage. Amazing!
Faizaan is an Evaluations Specialist and focuses on working to support inclusive and equitable development - he is a perfect fit for Street Storage as we grow and focus more on our Monitoring and Evaluation. Working at the Education Endowment Foundation, he carries out thorough evaluations of projects that the Foundation invests in.
Welcome aboard, Kiran and Faizaan! We're excited to work with you both and thank you so much for wanting to be part of our ongoing journey.
Kiran Mistry
Faizaan Sami
Penny Ran the Cambridge Half
25th March 2024
Penny Streatfeild started the fundraising year off with a bang, running the Cambridge Half Marathon on 3rd March for Street Storage!
She got a Personal Best and raised nearly £700!
There is still time to donate if you want to via her JustGiving Page here⭐🏃
Welcome Lilian!
19th Feb 2024
Lilian joined the team as our new Frontline Administrator and will be managing everything behind the scenes to make sure the service runs as smoothly as possible. She’ll be looking at improving our social media and website updates too…so watch this space!
Find out more about Lilian and the rest of the Street Storage team on our ‘Who We Are’ page.
Annual Accounts and Annual Report 2022-2023
Our 2022-2023 Annual Accounts and Annual Report are both out now! Please have a read. It details all of the Street Storage highs, lows, challenges, opportunities and news for the past Financial Year. Thanks to everyone who contributed to this report and to everyone else for your continued support of who we are and what we do💛
