“I was ill but it got to the level where I had to find work, because I couldn’t see my mum struggle like that.” Aaron, 27, was determined to find work to help pay rent despite been seriously ill and entitled to employment support allowance. When he was less than two years old Aaron was diagnosed with Leukaemia. His mother, […]
“If I hadn’t come to the Centre I wouldn’t have had the chance to gain work experience at the University of Cambridge.” Elena lived in the Centre’s Hostel for homeless young people for just over one year. She was fiercely independent throughout her time here and truly determined to be able to stand on her own two feet. By the end of […]
Sunday, 15 January was the World Day of Migrants and Refugees. Almost three quarters of people who come to the Cardinal Hume Centre for support were born overseas.
The Cardinal Hume Centre has stressed the need not only to confront the current homelessness crisis but to tackle it from its roots.
Just three weeks ago we had our annual staff and volunteer conference. We had chosen the theme of hope.
Land Securities, the company responsible for the recent transformation of Victoria, is hosting an even bigger and better Christmas carol concert at Westminster Cathedral in aid of the Centre, following the success of last year’s inaugural event. The festivities will spread beyond the Cathedral too, as ticket holders will be invited to a post-concert reception on the roof garden at […]
Last Thursday (3rd November), on a cold, wintery night, the Cardinal Hume Centre met with local investment advice firm, Cambridge Associates, for a friendly eleven-a-side football match. Gareth Farmer, one of our Advice and Assessment Officers, was tasked with pulling a squad together to represent the Centre on the pitch.
The biggest-ever CEO Sleepout London event took place last night (Monday, 31 October) at Lord’s Cricket Ground with around 200 CEOs, business and community leaders, MPs and Peers sleeping outside in a bid to raise more than £180,000 to help end homelessness.
On Wednesday this week, we took part in a mass lobby of parliament to encourage MPs to support the Homelessness Reduction Bill which is due to be debated on 28 October.
Thirty years may seem a mere blip in the great scheme of things but thinking about the number of people who have come through our doors over those years, it’s time beyond measure.
Our Family Service was opened in 1987 by Cardinal Hume. He was deeply concerned for the many families in the area who were living in poverty and he sought to provide a place of sanctuary for both parents and their children. Thirty years later poorly housed families continue to depend on the Centre for advice and support. For low income […]
“Four and a half months ago I was homeless. I had no family to turn to, and I had been sleeping in a friend’s van most nights, to avoid being out on the streets. On the few nights when I could stay with friends I had to stay up until everyone else had gone to bed before I could get […]
Leila is 24 years old. She came to the UK in 2013. Her life as a Palestinian refugee in Syria had become increasingly difficult since the outbreak of fighting in the Civil War. “There was bombing and fighting. It was very dangerous. There was no work, no shops. No money, no food or even water. People were eating rubbish, squeezing […]
On Monday, 12 September, a cricket-mad priest from the Vatican got the chance to kiss the holy ground at Lord’s where he’ll be sleeping out overnight to support people facing homelessness.
Jamila, 20, fled from Eritrea when she was just 14 years old. She was fleeing from religious persecution, and after being arrested managed to escape and leave the country with help from an agent. She left behind her father whom she has not seen or heard from since. She made her way to Greece and for two years lived in […]
Just after Christmas we received a heart-warming letter from a young girl called Osa*, who was writing to thank the Centre for the presents she and her family had received at Christmas. Her sweet and eloquent words were particularly moving given the recent struggles she and her family had been through. Osa is just ten years old. In her short […]
What strikes you most when speaking with Safia is the sense of duty she felt towards her family, and the heavy burden that placed upon her shoulders. She was supporting six grown-up children, four of whom were living with her, working day and night shifts for the NHS, and was struggling to keep her head above water following the loss […]
William Beveridge, who was fundamental to the founding of the welfare state in 1942, described charity as ‘like a golden thread through the living tapestry of our national story’. The tapestry is somewhat tattered today in the aftermath of the vote to leave the European Union
The Cardinal Hume Centre’s Chief Executive, Cathy Corcoran, gave oral evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee for the inquiry ‘The Future of JobCentre Plus’ this week.
For many people who come to the Cardinal Hume Centre to learn English improving their ability to understand and speak the language is a vital step to securing better jobs and integrating into their communities. However, the learning team at the Centre believes that gaining new skills should be about more than just practical necessity. And so, throughout the year, […]
