The last few years have been extremely unpredictable and the pandemic – in particular the closure of traditional night shelters and the Everyone In response – has had a significant impact on the homelessness sector.

During this time, we have made some major changes to our work. Our focus is now on people facing the most complex barriers to finding a stable home. We have also developed a new Theory of Change based on working ‘with, not for’.

We land in 2023 with very high levels of rough sleeping. Westminster continues to see a higher number of people sleeping rough than any other London borough. In addition, the proportion of people living on or returning to the streets is several times is greater than anywhere else in London.

Our new strategy 2023-2028 sets out how The Connection at St Martin’s will use our new Theory of Change and a drive to access much more affordable accommodation to significantly reduce the number of people living on the streets or moving on and off the streets repeatedly.

We will share our learning and evidence to add to the growing support for trauma-informed approaches so that people experiencing severe and multiple disadvantage get the support they need.