SWEP (Severe Weather Emergency Protocol) has officially been activated in London and temperatures are set to reach -4 over the next few days. At Hackney Night Shelter we've prepared additional emergency bed spaces alongside the main shelter.

Here's a glimpse of former guest Julie* telling her story. Watch the full interview: www.hackneydoorways.org.uk/stories/from...

Hear from shelter volunteer Gwladys about how your donations to Hackney Night Shelter's #Christmas Appeal can support women facing homelessness this winter as we prepare to open a new women's shelter in 2026. To find out more and donate head to the link in bio.

📣Belter for the Shelter is back!📣 Hackney Night Shelter’s legendary comedy benefit night returns to the Hackney Empire. Grab your ticket: www.hackneyempire.co.uk/events/belte...

Thanks to Lizzie McAllister for covering Hackney Night Shelter's Christmas Appeal in the Hackney Citizen today www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/2025/11/20/h...

The HNS team is busy today preparing additional emergency bed spaces for this evening as the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) has been activated in London. If you meet anyone sleeping rough you can contact Streetlink or Hackney Council on 02083562929 or 02083562300 out of hours

Today not only is the sun shining on the lovely plants in our courtyard, we were also really pleased to see two shelter guests move on positively! One of them was a 20 year old woman who had been sleeping rough in Brent before coming to the shelter and moved today to supported housing.

We received a lovely note from a guest after she moved out recently 💙 Before she came to the shelter, she was dealing with a relationship breakdown and losing employment. After staying at the shelter for a few weeks, she was able to secure a place in supported housing.

On Friday 10 October,World Homelessness Day,30 people took part in the sponsored Sleep Out raising funds to support Hackney Night Shelter to stay open every night of the year providing emergency shelter, hot meals and structured support into settled accommodation for people experiencing homelessness

1 day to go until the Sleep Out! While the team taking on this fundraising event will have comforts like toilets and food, it will be nothing like the harsh, unsafe conditions faced by more than 13,000 people in 2024/5 sleeping rough in London.

🌟HACKNEY NIGHT SHELTER'S ANNUAL SLEEP OUT IS BACK🌟We need YOU to make it the best one yet! On Friday 10 October we'll be sleeping out in the grounds of St John of Jerusalem Church. The Sleep Out is in no way meant to replicate what its like to sleep rough but instead raise funds for the shelter

🧵Move on period for new refugees to find accommodation cut back to 28 days - read our response www.hackneydoorways.org.uk/articles/mov...

We are recruiting for a Resettlement Support Worker to assist our guests moving on to longer term accommodation. Find out more about the role and how to apply (closing date 31 August): www.hackneydoorways.org.uk/pages/job-va...

TONIGHT! Come along to a night of laughter in support of Hackney Night Shelter -starting at 8pm, Backyard Comedy Club www.designmynight.com/london/bars/...

Mark, Director of Hackney Doorways recently featured in the latest episode of @storiesonabench with @itsmecarolinp - watch the full video and hear his reflections on working in the homelessness sector for many years > www.youtube.com/watch?v=1why...

This week we had an insightful volunteer learning evening where we heard from Prakash, Rough Sleeping Coordinator for Hackney and Colleen, our Shelter Coordinator about homelessness in Hackney and Hackney Night Shelter's role as one of very few year-round night shelter services in London.

Alongside the news that the 1824 Vagrancy Act will be abolished, meaning people experiencing homelessness will no longer be criminalised for sleeping rough, today's spending review has been a huge moment of progress. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The chancellor is set to announce a £39bn affordable housing programme for the next 10 years at Wednesday’s spending review as Labour aims to deliver on its promise to ramp up housebuilding.

Some good news - people experiencing homelessness will no longer be criminalised for sleeping rough. We're pleased to see this positive step towards treating people facing homelessness with care and humanity, not punishment.

Nearly a month to go until Stand Up for the Shelter, a night of comedy fundraising for Hackney Night Shelter! www.designmynight.com/london/bars/bethnal-green/backyard-comedy-club/stand-up-for-the-shelter

From being a friendly face and chatting with guests to cooking eggs in the morning, preparing delicious home-cooked evening meals to making up beds for new guests, we couldn't support people experiencing homelessness every night of the year without our amazing volunteers.

Read the story about one of our recent guests, Ali*, a refugee from Palestine www.hackneydoorways.org.uk/stories/pale...

🌟 HUGE 🌟 thank you to all our fantastic runners who completed the Hackney Half and helped smash our target, reaching almost £80,000🎉 which will go towards keeping our shelter open all year round, supporting people experiencing homelessness into settled accommodation.

We had a wonderful evening of spoken word on Tuesday. Thanks to all who attended and took part and to @stokeybookshop.bsky.social for having us! Together we raised over £600 towards our vital work providing emergency accommodation every night of the year to people experiencing homelessness

After arriving at our Severe Weather Emergency temporary shelter this winter, Daniel* came to stay at our main shelter for two weeks. Watch the full video to hear his story www.hackneydoorways.org.uk/stories/a-li... (* Guest names have been changed to protect their identity)

Sending love and solidarity to our trans siblings 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans people are more at risk of insecure housing and homelessness, with around a quarter of trans people experiencing homelessness. We must protect and support some of the most vulnerable people in our community and stand against transphobia.

Good morning Bluesky! Read our update on building refurbishment at our main shelter www.hackneydoorways.org.uk/articles/rev...

Last week we had a couple of great volunteering sessions with the Adyen team, gardening at our women's shelter, cooking up a storm and helping us prepare bed kits for our extra emergency bed spaces for the Severe Weather emergency protocol. Well done team! 👏

A young woman who stayed with us and recently moved on to supported accommodation said "It was very friendly, the volunteers are kind. It feels like home, there are people from my community here", reflecting that "before I came I was so scared, when I came I found it was a safe place and easy"

In recent years research has shown that there are many more women rough sleeping who are missed from counts as their experiences of homelessness are often hidden and transient, such as sleeping on buses #InternationalWomensDay

As the temp drops #SWEP has been activated again. We're busy preparing extra bed spaces for the weekend. If you meet anyone rough sleeping make sure to check they are OK and if they give permission you can refer to Streetlink to help access emergency accommodation or check your local council's info

The UK's housing crisis is having a detrimental impact on young people, with more than a third of rough sleepers under 35 www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

This is a terrible attack on refugees' right to secure long-term safety and belonging in the UK. 'Good character guidance amended to block refugees from naturalisation' by @freemovement.bsky.social ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Last weekend Song for a Shelter was a blast with an incredible lineup and brilliant host Josh Widdicombe all thanks to the wonderful Jeni (Sublime London) and team! 💫

Families should not have to be facing these horrendous conditions. We urgently need safe, affordable housing.

🚨 #SWEP will be active today and throughout the weekend in #London. Knowing how difficult it is to reach most Council services on weekends, please try to get people in today. 🤞

As the weather remains cold this week, we are continuing to provide 10 extra emergency bed spaces and hot meals for people who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets

While many services close over the holidays, our main shelter is staying open over the Christmas period with the help of our brilliant team of volunteers.

We're delighted to receive a donation of £25,000 for our Christmas Appeal from Ticket Tailor, giving us a big boost towards our goal! This will go towards lots of hearty evening meals and help us keep providing emergency accommodation for people experiencing homelessness all year round.

Thursday night is very popular at our shelter as it is Nando's night! We really appreciate the regular donation from our local Nando's and many of our guests mention how much they love it in their feedback when they move on to their longer term accommodation

We had wonderful evening of sea shanties, carols and festive fun in Dalston with the London Sea Shanty Collective fundraising for our Christmas Appeal! 🎶 🪕 ✨ Donate to our link in bio to help us continue providing emergency accommodation for people who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets

Our volunteers and guests have been busy making decorations and adorning our tree, which was kindly donated by Hackneywickmas 🎄We're so pleased to get our space feeling festive! ☃️ 🌟 ✨

Hope amid anxiety for our Syrian guests: An update on our guests from Syria following the fall of the Assad regime

Hello Bluesky! We're an independent shelter providing emergency accommodation for people facing homelessness based in Hackney. Across our two shelters we provide 26 bed spaces every night of the year for people who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets.

Very excited for this frankly outrageous bill on Saturday! Few tickets left on eventbrite and dice. Very happy to welcome along @hackneyns.bsky.social who will be taking donations and physical items as part of their Christmas appeal. Tickets here tinyurl.com/3wjdnwsy