- · Norwich Drive in For Hope, taking place on World Homeless Day, raised over two thousand pounds to tackle homelessness;
- · The event was held to mark the launch of new charity Hopestead which aims to end homelessness in the East of England;
- · The charity – established by Flagship Group – has already delivered an initiative awarding over £350k to 700 families at risk of losing their homes.
A Norwich drive in cinema event taking place on World Homeless Day has raised funds to help tackle homelessness.
All ticket sales from the Drive In For Hope, held at Heartsease Lane on Saturday 10 October, have generated over two thousand pounds in funds which will go towards supporting those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
The event – which saw family favourite ‘The Greatest Showman’ shown – took place to mark the launch of Hopestead, the new charity from Flagship Group with the aim of ending homelessness in the East of England.
Marie-Claire Delbrouque, Managing Director of Hopestead said: “The Drive in For Hope was a fantastic, uplifting event which brought people together – safely – through film.
“We are so grateful for the support and generosity of everyone who came along: simply by watching a movie, you have helped us to tackle homelessness.
Although this weekend marked its official launch, Hopestead began an initiative earlier this year, offering support to Flagship Group customers during the pandemic when it became clear that Covid-19 had the potential to increase homelessness.
Hopestead has since awarded in excess of £350k to nearly 700 families who might be at risk of losing their homes. Some of those who received this support shared their stories in a moving film which was also shown at the Drive in for Hope on Saturday.
Marie-Claire Delbrouque explained: “Now more than ever we are seeing people at risk of losing their homes. Doing nothing is not an option for us and we feel we have a fundamental responsibility to tackle this problem in our region.
“Which is why we have launched Hopestead. We believe everyone deserves a place to call home. We want to end homelessness in the East of England
“This is an ambitious goal. But by tackling the causes of homelessness and working in partnership with likeminded organisations already working hard to eradicate homelessness, we believe we can achieve this together.”
Rebecca White, CEO of Your Own Place – which aims to find innovative as well as cost-effective solutions to homelessness – attended the event and said: “What a fantastic launch to a new service that worked so well during this pandemic. For me the film resonated with homelessness as The Greatest Showman worked to make people normally ignored by society, visible.
“And that’s what we need to do with homelessness. We need to change the conversation so people realise it can happen to any of us.
“Our intention, as we at Your Own Place start our relationship with Hopestead, is to be a part of the conversation and the solution. I know already that we share the same vision in eradicating homelessness in the east.”
Helen Baldry, Head of Marketing and Communication at St Martins Housing Trust said: “The drive-in event on Saturday was brilliant. It was a fun and safe way to mark the launch of Hopestead in a socially distanced way. People who had experienced homelessness talked about the impact well placed support has on their lives; the relief they spoke about was tangible.”
Dr Jan Sheldon, CEO of St Martins added: “St Martins has been working in Norfolk over nearly 50 years to support homeless people and we are excited about the launch of Hopestead in our region. We have a shared vision of ending homelessness and we know the solution comes from partnership working. We can achieve more by working together, and this involves prevention work, long-term housing and sustained support to help each person fulfil their potential.”
The Norwich Drive-In for Hope was mirrored by a similar drive-in movie showing in Ipswich on 9 October which raised over one thousand pounds from ticket sales. With donations across both sites, the total raised to tackle homelessness in the East of England over the weekend was nearly £4,000.
Find out more about Hopestead here: www.hopestead.org
