Homelessness Sunday

Joanna Whitney, from Housing Justice Cymru, invites congregations to take part

Housing Justice holds Homelessness Sunday on the Sunday before World Homeless Day each year. This year. it falls on 5th October, and our theme is Love thy neighbour.

With homelessness continuing to rise, our aim is to raise awareness among churches of the issues surrounding rough sleeping and unsuitable temporary accommodation by asking them to run their own Homelessness Sunday Service, either on 5th October or on a more convenient date.

Data from The Wallich shows that in April 2025, nearly 11,000 people, including 2,596 children, were living in temporary accommodation in Wales. This number has been rising since the pandemic due to a lack of social housing and insufficient Local Housing Allowance rates. Welsh Government rough sleeping data for June 2025 shows that there were also an estimated 116 individuals sleeping rough, although the true figure is likely to be significantly higher than this.

We hope that by taking time to reflect on Homelessness Sunday, Church congregations will consider what they can do in their own community to alleviate homelessness, suffering and poverty. Here you will find a range of resources to support you if you would like to run your own Homelessness Sunday Service.