Shelter is a registered

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

that campaigns for tenant rights in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people and lobbies government and local authorities for new laws and policies. It works in partnership with

Shelter Cymru Shelter Cymru describes itself as Wales's people and homes charity. Its vision is that a Right to housing, decent, secure home is a fundamental right and essential to the health and well-being of communities. Information background Shelter Cymru p ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and the Housing Rights Service in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The charity was founded in 1966 and raised 48.2 million pounds in 2020/21. Shelter helps people in housing need by providing advice and practical assistance, and campaigns for better investment in housing and for laws and policies to improve the lives of homeless and badly housed people.

History

Shelter was launched on 1 December 1966, evolving out of the work on behalf of homeless people then being carried on in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The launch of Shelter hugely benefited from the coincidental screening, in November 1966, of the BBC

television play A television play is a television programming genre which is a drama performance broadcast from a multi-camera television studio, usually live in the early days of television but later recorded to tape. This is in contrast to a television movi ...

Cathy Come Home ''Cathy Come Home'' is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a ...

'' ten days before Shelter's launch. It was written by

Jeremy Sandford Christopher Jeremy Sandford (5 December 1930 – 12 May 2003) was an English television screenwriter who came to prominence in 1966 with ''Cathy Come Home'', his controversial entry in BBC1's ''The Wednesday Play'' anthology strand, which wa ...

and directed by

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...

– and highlighted the plight of the homeless in Britain. Shelter was set up by the Rev

Bruce Kenrick Rev Bruce Kenrick (18 January 1920 – 15 January 2007) was an English Activism, social activist and Minister (Christianity), Minister in the United Reformed Church and the Church of Scotland. He is best known for writing "Come out the Wilder ...

after forming the Notting Hill Housing Trust in 1963. The social campaigner

Des Wilson Des Wilson (born 5 March 1941) is a New Zealand-born British campaigner, political activist, businessman, sports administrator, author and poker player. He was one of the founders of the British homelessness charity Shelter and was for a while an ...

, having seen ''Cathy Come Home'', became pivotal in the development Shelter. Unusually for a charity, in 2008 Shelter saw strike action by its staff in response to changes being made to their terms and conditions.

Financial information

For the year ended March 2017 (England) *Total incoming resources: £60,902,000 *Total expenditure: £62,874,000 *Fundraising costs: £18,852,000 *Total cost of charitable activities: £44,022,000

Sources of funding

*Donations and legacies 54% *Housing advice and support services 29% *Shelter shops 14% *Training and publications 2% *Other 1%

References

External links

Shelter web site
*
Baron Pitt of Hampstead & Shelter - UK Parliament Living Heritage
Homelessness charities in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1966 Charities based in London 1969 establishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-charity-stub

History

Financial information

Sources of funding

See also

References

External links