Homeless Link

National membership organisation for homelessness charities in England

Homeless LinkFormation| 31 October 2001; 23 years ago (2001-10-31)

|

Type| Charity
Purpose| Homelessness
Headquarters| London

Chief Executive

| Rick Henderson
Staff| 110[1]
Website| homeless.org.uk

Homeless Link is a national membership charity for homelessness organisations in England. It serves as an umbrella body for frontline organisations and individuals across the UK. It campaigns for policy changes that aim to end homelessness and provides its members with training, consultancy, and specialised software. It has over 800 organisations and individuals as part of its membership.[2][3]

## History

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Homeless Link was incorporated as a charity on 31 October 2001.[4]

Jenny Edwards was appointed Chief Executive of Homeless Link in 2004 with Rick Henderson taking over in July 2012 and remaining in this position since.[5][6]

Jamie Burton KC was appointed as the new Chair of the organisation in January 2025, taking over from Anne McLaughlin who had served a full three-year term.[7]

## Services and initiatives

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Homeless Link produces an annual report into the support available for single homeless people in England. The report provides an independent assessment into the needs and demographics of single people accessing homelessness services and the availability of these services.[8][9]

In March 2022, Homeless Link announced that it had been awarded the contract to manage the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) system starting in April 2022 for an initial three year contract. CHAIN is a multi-agency database that maintains records of rough sleeping across London.[10]

The organisation receives funding from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to support local authorities in England in undertaking estimations of the number of rough sleepers on a typical night between 1 October and 30 November each year.[11]

Homeless Link maintains Homeless England, the most comprehensive database of homelessness services across all areas of England.[12]

The organisation manages and administers The Homewards Fund, in partnership with the Royal Foundation. The stated aim of the initiative is to provide funding across a five-year period to support the delivery of an action plan to reduce homelessness in six locations: Lambeth, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, Newport, Northern Ireland, Aberdeen, and Sheffield.[13]

## References

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1. ^ "HOMELESS LINK - Charity 1089173". prd-ds-register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
2. ^ "About Us". Homeless Link. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
3. ^ "Rick Henderson | HuffPost". www.huffingtonpost.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
4. ^ "HOMELESS LINK - Charity 1089173". prd-ds-register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
5. ^ "A fresh take on homelessness". www.thetimes.com. 13 March 2007. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
6. ^ "Why we are working with the Royals". Homeless Link. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
7. ^ Cantrell, Mark (16 January 2025). "Homeless Link names human rights legal expert as chair". Housing Digital. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
8. ^ "Support for people sleeping rough in England, June 2023". GOV.UK. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
9. ^ "2021 Annual Review of Support for Single Homeless People in England". Homeless Link. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
10. ^ "Homeless Link to take over the management of the homelessness database CHAIN". Homeless Link. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
11. ^ "Rough Sleeping Snapshot Estimates". Homeless Link. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
12. ^ "Homeless England". Homeless Link. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
13. ^ "Homewards Fund". The Royal Foundation - Homewards. Archived from the original on 1 March 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2025.