About Step Forward to End Homelessness

Step Forward to End Homelessness is a virtual step challenge, raising funds to help support Crisis services and campaigning work across the UK. You can participate wherever you are in the world!

It is very simple to Step Forward to end homelessness. Click here to complete your registration and set up an online giving page.

 Your friends, family and colleagues can all sponsor you through your online page.

It is completely free to register for Step Forward to End Homelessness

You can choose one of our targets or for smaller feet and different abilities, set your own goal. Suggested step targets:

• 63,965– the number of families and individuals trapped in unsuitable temporary accommodation in 2020
• 106,686 – the number of people sofa surfing in England in 2020
• 274,444– The number of families and individuals who will experience the worst forms of homelessness in England by 2041

Absolutely! Once you’ve registered, you can create a team page on Justgiving and invite your friends, family or colleagues to join. Team pages are perfect for helping you to achieve personal targets while contributing to an overall goal and can even encourage some healthy competition. Find out more about fundraising as part of a team on Justgiving.

Anyone registered for the event, who has received at least one donation on their Justgiving page may request a t-shirt. T-shirts come in sizes Small to 2XL. Email stepforward@crisis.org.uk to request your t-shirt, including your name, t-shirt size and the address you’d like the t-shirt sent to. Please allow 10 days for your t-shirt to arrive.

We ask that participants aim to raise at least £150 each for Crisis. There will be fundraising competitions and prizes to be won for the top fundraisers, so get your friends and family to dig deep! Find out how you compare to others on the leader boards.

If you are raising money online, all your sponsorship is automatically transferred to Crisis with no further admin for you. If you are raising money offline then we ask that all sponsorship is with us by the end of June. Please contact the team on stepforward@crisis.org.uk to find out the best way to pay in your offline fundraising.  

Yes, you can! We know some people prefer to raise funds offline, so we suggest you download a sponsorship form and ask your friends and family to sponsor you that way. You can add offline donations to your fundraising page to make sure your total is up to date.

The donations you receive for taking part in Step Forward to End Homelessness allow us to help people directly out of homelessness and campaign for the changes needed to solve it altogether.

• £10 provides a warm welcome and helps someone take the first steps out of homelessness
• £25 helps someone regain a sense of worth through healthcare and counselling
• £50 helps someone gain the skills or qualifications they need to turn their life around
• £100 provides support, training and equipment to help someone find their way back into employment
• £250 provides one-to-one support to help someone find a safe place to call home.

You can find out more about what we do and how we do it by visiting our website.

This event is all keeping active and us collectively taking steps to end homelessness. Whether using an app on your phone, a pedometer or a smart watch, you can record your daily step total each day on your JustGiving page. This means you can share your daily total publicly and keep a record of your total steps during the month.

We’ve also created a 31-day step log on our resources page so you can keep a total offline too, if you like.

We know that everyone has different abilities, so make sure you’re setting achievable targets and keeping safe throughout the event. Our top tips for putting your best foot forward:

• Wear appropriate shoes or kit for your challenge, including hi-vis clothing or accessories for any activities taking place at night or on roads.
• Always take routes that are well-lit and known to you and let a friend or family member know when and where you are going.
• Under 16s should be supervised by an adult when participating in Step Forward to End Homelessness
• Warm up properly before your activity and don’t push yourself TOO hard! If you feel unwell or injure yourself, please seek medical advice before continuing your activity.

Taking part in Step Forward to End Homelessness is a great way to get active. It is likely that you will be able to participate safely within any restrictions or even under national lockdown, Please do follow any government guidance in place at the time, and practice social distancing. If you live in a busy area, you may wish to try going out for a walk or run at a quieter time of day to minimise your interaction with others.

Please check your local alert level guidelines to ensure you are taking part safely. 

• Living room laps, kitchen dancing and extra journeys up and down the stairs all count towards your goal.
• Set alarms to encourage you to take a break from your desk or workspace and get some extra steps in around the house at different intervals throughout the day.
• There are plenty of walking workout videos on Youtube – why not add one into your morning routine?

If you’ve got a question that is not answered here, please contact the team: stepforward@crisis.org.uk