Funding from the Greater London Authority, alongside support from St Mungo’s, will provide vital extra time for approximately 180 people who would otherwise be sleeping rough this winter. 

National homelessness charities Crisis and St Mungo’s are teaming up for a fifth year, along with the Greater London Authority (GLA), to extend the hotel-based ‘Crisis at Christmas’ service in London further into the new year. 

The hotel provision, which provides each guest with their own private room, along with a dedicated support worker and access to housing and benefit advice, will now run until 21st January 2026. This extension, made possible by funding from the GLA, as well as the generous support of the public, will see approximately 180 people who would otherwise be sleeping rough being given the best possible chance of leaving homelessness behind. 

Typically, Crisis’ long-running Christmas provision comes to an end shortly after the new year, following a two-week period where guests are given somewhere safe and warm to sleep, three meals a day, companionship and expert advice from Crisis and St Mungo’s staff and volunteers. 

The extension of hotel-based support will mean guests have somewhere secure and comfortable to stay during some of the coldest weeks of the year, alongside access to additional services including support for physical and mental health. 

For the last four years providing a safe place to stay and access support services, including St Mungo’s specialist move-on support, for an extended period has benefitted guests who have experienced rough sleeping for longer and have multiple care and support needs. Last year, 63% of guests accommodated in the extension hotel were no longer seen rough sleeping 6 months later.   

Crisis Chief Executive, Matt Downie, said: "No one should have to endure the trauma of sleeping rough, especially in the bitter cold. Extending our hotel provision in London gives our guests, and the staff and volunteers they'll be working with, crucial extra time to work on practical and sustainable plans to move off the streets and into more secure accommodation. In these extra weeks, guests will continue to receive tailored one-to-one support and will be provided with clear routes into year-round services on offer from organisations like Crisis. 

"I'm delighted that, now for the fifth year in a row, we have been able to come together as a sector, and we are hugely grateful for the support that the Greater London Authority have been able to offer. Providing people with their own hotel room, alongside specialist and personalised support, is a dignified and proven approach that can, and does, change lives." 

Emma Haddad, Chief Executive of St Mungo's, said: "St Mungo’s partnership with Crisis and the Greater London Authority means that many people have been able to come in off the streets at one of the coldest and most difficult times of the year. This extension of funding provides us with more time to work with people who have often experienced multiple disadvantages and provide them with support and our expertise in helping them to move on to safe longer-term accommodation and start to rebuild their lives. 

“Our teams know that bringing people in from the streets, providing them with safety and comfort and starting to rebuild the trust that people have too often lost, is the best way to support people to end their homelessness. 

“We are really proud to be part of this cross-sector collaboration and very grateful both to the Mayor of London and the people who have donated to St Mungo’s to help us continue to provide services that support people away from homelessness.”    

Val, 58, who was supported by St Mungo’s through Crisis at Christmas in 2024, said: “The support I received last Christmas from Crisis and St Mungo’s has been life-changing. 

“I’d been sleeping rough on and off for five years. But during my stay at the hotel, I had a bed of my own, three decent meals a day, and I even saw a dentist for the first time in ages. Most importantly, I was put in touch with a St Mungo’s support worker who helped set me on the path away from homelessness. 

“Thanks to their support, I now have a place to call home, which is safe and secure. My life has been transformed.” 

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “No-one should have to sleep rough on the streets and I am proud we have funded Crisis’ hotel over the Christmas season and through January. City Hall’s £200,000 investment has helped to support around 180 Londoners off the streets, providing the security of a warm bed and specialist help to those people with a longer history of rough sleeping. 

“This investment is part of a £1m prevention package delivering a suite of new services this winter, providing targeted, intensive help for people on the streets and piloting innovative approaches to preventing rough sleeping.   

“I’m committed to ending rough sleeping in London by 2030 and have supported nearly 20,000 people off the streets since I became Mayor.  

“I know there is still more to do, which is why I’m working closely with partners, including Crisis and St Mungo’s, the Government, councils, and experts to build a safer, fairer London for everyone.”