As nearly a month’s worth of rain fell from the skies during the first week of The Championships, Wimbledon’s two retractable roofs were hard at work managing to keep the event on schedule.
The benefit of the roofs is plain to see but behind-the-scenes, the No.1 Court roof has been making an impact in a very different way.
Back in 2019, The No.1 Court Celebration, held to test No.1 Court’s new roof, helped to raise £650,000 for the Wimbledon Foundation’s newly launched homelessness fund, A Roof for All. Over the last five years, those funds have helped more than 22,000 people experiencing homelessness in the All England Club’s local community of Merton and Wandsworth.
The multi-year grants awarded to four homelessness charities could not have been more timely as the challenges presented by COVID-19 and the ensuing cost of living crisis led to increasing numbers of people facing homelessness. Between 2019 and 2021, the number of new people sleeping rough in the borough of Wandsworth rose by 600% (Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN)).
Jo Carter, Chief Executive of Glass Door Homelessness Charity, said: “The Wimbledon Foundation’s funding provided much-needed security and stability at a time when we needed to be flexible and ready to adapt our services in response to the ever-changing challenges presented by the pandemic and its related impact on individuals seeking our help.”
A Roof for All enabled Ace of Clubs, Glass Door, SPEAR and Spires to increase their organisational capacity through investment in strategic personnel and digital systems meaning they are better placed to support vulnerable people off the streets and towards healthy and positive futures. Liz Griffiths, Head of Trust Fundraising at SPEAR, said: “A new database may sound dry but actually it’s brilliant because it means we can better measure homelessness locally and by sharing this information with local councils we can identify gaps which will ultimately reduce rough sleeping.”
The Foundation’s support allowed Ace of Clubs to reinforce the services and support they provide to rough sleepers including the daily provision of meals, a clothing store and laundry, an in-house nurse, a visiting dental service, access to showers, educational courses and a computer room where clients can access the internet to search for jobs and thereby maintain their benefit entitlements.
Gary found himself homeless at the beginning of the pandemic after his relationship with his long-term partner broke down. Turning to Ace of Clubs for help, a caseworker met with him regularly and helped Gary to secure a home of his own in 2021. Gary said: “Ace of Clubs gave me stability to start building my life back. They supplied food and washing and helped me bid for my accommodation as you need a computer for that. But it wasn’t just the support. It was the company as well. It’s seeing someone human.”
Amanda Horton-Mastin, Head of the Wimbledon Foundation, said: “Our ambition in launching A Roof for All was to make a substantial contribution to tackling homelessness in our local community of Merton and Wandsworth. While the pandemic and cost of living crisis has sadly led to rising numbers of people facing homelessness, it’s evident that our support has had a far-reaching impact on the quality and effectiveness of the work of these four organisations. Collectively, they have helped 22,353 individuals experiencing homelessness and despite the many challenges faced by the voluntary sector, they are now better placed to help people leave homelessness behind for good.”
The Wimbledon Foundation continues to support the work of national homelessness charity Crisis, the winter night shelters in Merton and Wandsworth, and in December will award a further £480,000 to local organisations through its Homelessness Fund to help ensure everyone has a roof.