To mark World Homeless Day on October 10, the Reading Chronicle, in conjunction with Launchpad, are bringing you stories each day from those whose lives in the town have been touched by homelessness.

LAUNCHPAD'S Drop-in is available to anyone in Reading who needs housing or homelessness-related advice.

You could be sleeping on a friend’s sofa, not sure how to find accommodation, worried about rent, have landlord problems, need benefit advice or help with drug or alcohol misuse.

Launchpad can help prevent a problem become a crisis.

Launchpad Drop-in volunteers Chris and Sarah, two of the team that offers advice, told us about some of the people they have helped at the Drop-in:

Janice’s* benefits were stopped when she didn’t go to the Job Centre on the day of her brother’s funeral. She literally had no money to buy food.

When she came to the Drop-in, Chris and Sarah were able to intervene. They called the Job Centre and helped to get her Jobseeker’s Allowance reinstated.

Many of the people that are helped by Launchpad don’t have the confidence to challenge decisions. If Launchpad are able to get involved they can often help sort out problems quickly and prevent a problem becoming a crisis.

Numerous people who come to the Drop-in worry they are going to end up sleeping rough as they are sofa-surfing, relying on the goodwill of friends night after night.

We’re able to guide them through the process of being officially verified as homeless with Reading Borough Council. They can then get appropriate help. Launchpad can also recommend friendly Reading landlords.

People who visit the Drop-in for advice are very diverse. Some are very articulate but not aware of their options and the housing process. Some are aware of their options but don’t have the confidence or skills to do something about it.

Most local authority forms are online now. For example, to register for Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), you need to be IT literate.

When people don’t have the IT skills or equipment to access the information they need to help themselves, Launchpad can help. They have access to a phone, computer and the support of volunteers.

* To help protect the privacy of those we help names have been changed. Picture on the website is posed by a model.

Just one day

The work Launchpad do in the town is vital.

Help Launchpad prevent homelessness in Reading and get involved this World Homeless Day Monday 10 October… it’s just one day.

Can you support Launchpad this World Homeless Day, individually or with your school, community group or business?

Here are a few ideas:

  • Give up your lunch money: Have a basic lunch or no lunch. And donate the usual lunch money to Launchpad, just for one day.
  • #FirstFiver: Why not do something good with the first new plastic £5 note you receive and donate it to Launchpad.
  • When I grow up….dress up day: Ask everyone to come in dressed as the person or profession they want to or wanted to be when they were little. Charge your astronauts, football stars and vets for the privilege of living their dream. Nobody grows up wanting to become homeless.
  • Bake a house Organise a baking competition: Cook up a tasty gingerbread house that can be sampled for a donation, helping to get people to stop and think about why everyone needs a safe place to call home.
  • Socks in a box: Organise a collection of essential items to help the homeless and vulnerable: Ask everyone to put a (pair of) socks in a box for distribution at the Reading Severe Weather Emergency Project.
  • Say yes we ‘can’: Invite your friends to donate a can or packet of non-perishable food or top up the Launchpad toiletry cupboard with a toothbrush and shower gel amnesty. A collection of items makes people pause to consider life without such necessities.
  • Text donate on the day: LWHD16 £10 to 70070 to donate to Launchpad Reading and make a difference on World Homeless Day.

Launchpad is a charity that helps some of Reading’s most vulnerable and disadvantaged people to turn their lives around and fulfil their potential.

They began by running a soup kitchen 35 years ago and were known as Reading Single Homeless Project until 2011. Today, they’re called Launchpad Reading.

Based in bright premises right in central Reading, they work to provide accommodation, support, education and counselling to people in the town who need their help.

To find out more, log onto: www.launchpadreading.org.uk/