London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

Homeless prevention: How London campaign helped one man

The last time 49-year-old Don Bell had an apartment of his own was about two years ago.
The former welder has since bounced around, between Windsor and London, from emergency shelters to the streets and back.

Carrying a bag with some of his belongings, Bell, who first began dealing with homelessness about 11 years ago after his marriage broke down, says he’s optimistic his “unlucky” streak will soon end.

London’s one-week blitz to help the homeless, trying to house people in need and connect them with public services, is a big part of that optimism. While Bell doesn’t have a permanent place yet, he’s half way there, with temporary shelter for now, thanks to the city campaign.

“It’s helped me out quite a bit already,” Bell said outside the Silverwood Arena, where city hall encouraged people in need to go this week to get help.

“Everything you actually need is under the roof,” Bell said of the reception centre.

Bell had more than a few needs, apart from a place to live. He had no official ID, needed some winter clothing and also hoped to get some help to find a doctor and a dentist.

Now, he has temporary ID, some cold-weather clothing and, through the one-week campaign’s help, a spot at the Salvation Army’s Centre of Hope that will be a transitional place for him to live until a permanent place can be found.

Bell was among more than 550 people who made their way to the east London arena during the campaign that ended Friday, part of the city’s Housing Stability Week.

The goal was to get as many Londoners as possible off the street and into supported homes, while also connecting them with social services that can help to break the cycle of homelessness. In a city with an affordable housing crisis, officials also hoped to get a better understanding of needs.

To help, city hall is offering to sign leases for those who don’t qualify to rent places, either because of their background or income, pay first and last months’ rent through the Housing Stability Bank and top up people who are short on rent.

In Bell’s case, that will be quite a lot, considering he receives less than $600 a month in social assistance.

“You cannot survive on that,” he said.

City hall’s push has been effective, said Jessie Ford, who manages a housing program at St. Leonard’s Community Services called “project home” that was one of city hall’s partners in the campaign.

“It really was positive in bringing community organizations together, which has made our job easier in terms of getting people housed,” she said.

“It has also brought (to attention) individuals who are experiencing homelessness in our community, who we aren’t necessarily aware of because they are not accessing shelters, so it has brought them to the forefront,” she said.

Ford said the program she leads had managed to house 34 people since the start of the fiscal year in April.

But as a result of the blitz alone, they secured places to live for another 10 people, with 11 others either in the process of applying for housing or in transitional rooms or hotels, Ford said.

City officials admit more needs to be done.

An estimated 200 people live on city streets, with most emergency shelters running at capacity and about 4,700 families waiting for rent-geared-to-income units.

Compounding the issue are high rents and a low vacancy rate, which squeeze low-income people out of the market.

“We’ve got our work cut out for us in the next three to two weeks to crunch all the data we have been able to collect and move forward with our plans to rapidly house people with supports,” said Craig Cooper, city hall’s manager of homeless prevention.

Effective as they think this week was, there are still scores of people living on the streets that city hall and local agencies have yet to reach, Cooper added.

“We could probably do this for a couple of weeks in a row and still not see everybody,” he said.

As for Bell, he said the campaign was a good start that could give homeless people new hope.

“When people shut the door in your face more than once, and it keeps on shutting, sometimes you just give up,” he said.

“This is helping out a lot of people,” he added. “I keep hearing it.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
×