Blackpool-based full-service agency Happy Creative has helped the resort’s homeless charity Streetlife launch its vision for a sustainable future.
The 2020 campaign launched with emotional speeches from Streetlife’s counsellor, Jacqui Lane, and its CEO, Jane Hugo who said the stigma attached to homelessness has changed over the decades.
Blackpool MP Gordon Marsden joined Blackpool Mayor Kath Rowson, High Sheriff of Lancashire, John Barnett, the Bishop of Lancaster, Geoff Pearson and other guests to hear about “Dan” who has turned his life around since becoming involved with the charity as a teenager.
Streetlife wants 2,020 people to sign up to donate just £5 per month by 2020 in order to secure its financial future. It is feeling the impact following a raft of austerity measures which saw it lose more than £150,000 worth of council funding.
Happy Creative has been Streetlife’s marketing partner for the past year, providing the charity with the company’s expertise on events and public relations.
Mrs Hugo said: “We have two choices; either we allow the funding to run its course and close the doors on hundreds of vulnerable young people or we carry on seeking the funding and support of a community which looks out for each other.
“We need people’s help to help turn these lives around which is why the 2020 campaign is so important to us. Without the donations we receive we are unable to plug the deficit this charity has been left with.”
Ms Lane added: “Streetlife is a family for the people who are affected by broken homes, social problems and various other tragic situations.
“Dan is just one of hundreds of case studies we have helped over the years and he is now happier and able to build a life away from the situation he found himself in. We gave him the hope to carry on.”
The charity currently provides support to over 400 young people each year by way of emergency accommodation, life-skills training, one-to-one support, assistance in finding more permanent accommodation and referrals to specialist agencies.
It is the only organisation providing emergency accommodation to young people in and around Blackpool. Established in the early 1980’s by town centre churches to help offer hope to local young people and the opportunity to secure a future.
Karen Lambert, managing director of Happy Creative, said: “It has been a pleasure providing Streetlife with our expertise over the past year and help to raise their profile across the Fylde Coast and further afield.
“From our initial meeting there was a feeling amongst the team that Streetlife was a charity that helped young vulnerable people make the most of their lives and we believe very strongly in that.
“We wanted to give something back to the community and we look forward to working with Streetlife to make the 2020 campaign a huge success.”
