Over the past month, The Connection has been running a campaign to raise awareness about a shocking fact. The life expectancy of a rough sleeper in the UK is 44. The number of people who died homeless in 2023 was 1474. These stark facts highlight the harm that is done when people experience homelessness and rough sleeping. Mental and physical health suffer, along with the impact of substance misuse.
To bring this terrible situation to the attention of the wider public, we have been running adverts in the tubes, stations and bus stops in Westminster entitled ‘Dying For Connection – neglect is fatal, compassion can turn things around’. The campaign was also launched on social media. It has generated a lot of attention and is bringing new support for our work.
We have also been collaborating with Canadian fibre artist Kirk Dunn to create a one-of-a-kind blanket made up of 1,474 individually knitted squares – each one dedicated to someone who died homeless in 2023. We have received squares from people all over the UK and we started assembling the blanket in September in Charing Cross station. We will carry on working on it before it goes out on tour in 2026 to raise awareness of this tragedy.
Rough sleeping isn’t a lifestyle choice. It’s hard to choose when you are unfamiliar with the options available to you. Many rough sleepers have simply never experienced a time in their lives when they are in a safe, secure home. Therefore it is difficult to envisage what that might be like, and easy to accept what’s familiar. A big part if our work is to raise expectations. We think it is reasonable to expect to have an affordable home and the support to keep it.
We will be remembering nine Connection clients at the annual service of commemoration for homeless people who have died, held at St Martin-in-the-Fields on Thursday, November 13. It’s an opportunity for contemplation and celebration by and for the homeless community in London. All are welcome.
Pam Orchard
CEO, The Connection at St Martin’s
