'Not everybody comes home for Christmas' Festive funding appeal

A BRISTOL-BASED charity which aims to help young people under the age of 25 who find themselves homeless has launched a new campaign to raise much-needed funds before Christmas, after a steep rise in the number of young people needing their help.

- Tristan CORK

1625 Independent People has launched its festive funding campaign to keep services running over winter

The charity 1625 Independent People has emergency and temporary accommodation across Bristol and South Gloucestershire and said that in 2025 it helped almost 2,000 young people in immediate housing crisis.

The new campaign for this Christmas and New Year is called 'Not Everyone Goes Home for Christmas,' and is aiming to raise money from the people of Bristol who are in secure housing. The hard-hitting campaign shines a light on what the charity said is the 'harsh reality that not all young people have a safe place to go during the festive season.' They said they need the donations to keep vital services running.

"For many of us, Christmas is a time to return home to loved ones," said Kim James-Coggins, from 1625. "For hundreds of thousands of young people, this simply isn’t an option.