The Passage has been confirmed as one of the receiving grantees from the Julia Rausing Trust, established in memory of the late British philanthropist, Julia Rausing.
This comes as the Trust announces their upcoming donation of £100million to various charities and organisations in its first year, making it one of the largest charitable funds in the UK.
When approving the grant, Hans Rausing noted how the The Passage “resonated with [his] wife’s desire to tackle homelessness, enabling people to be able to access and sustain decent housing“.
The funding will be given in support of The Passage’s pioneering No Night Out scheme, which was developed following the pandemic when we identified an effective working model – moving people into emergency accommodation, during the ‘Everyone In’ initiative.
Mick Clarke, Chief Executive of The Passage comments: “Julia Rausing was an inspiration. Her generosity and support for schemes and organisations that prevent and end homelessness has enabled thousands of people to end their homelessness for good.
The Passage is therefore very privileged to be a recipient of a grant for our No Night Out scheme, which prevents people facing homelessness from spending even a first night on the streets, helping them back into a place they can call home. Given Julia’s long-term commitment and passion for ending homelessness, we know this is a project she would be proud to support and hope it will be a fitting legacy to her memory.“
No Night Out has proven to be highly successful since launching in 2021, with 196 people prevented from spending their first night on the streets. Of that number, 13 people needed further intervention to stay in accommodation, only 5 of whom remain on the street.
However, with official figures revealing a 58% increase in rough sleeping numbers in London in the last decade*, our focus on preventative action will provide a pivotal lifeline for many. In 21st Century Britain, it is simply unacceptable that anyone is forced to spend a night on our streets. However, unfortunately it is becoming the reality for a rapidly increasing number of people.
At The Passage, we believe that everyone has a role to play in ending homelessness. So, we encourage you to get involved today. Whatever you choose to do, it will make a real difference to people’s lives.
Special thanks to the Julia Rausing Trust.
Julia Rausing co-founded The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust in 2014. She was widely known for her unwavering commitment to philanthropy and her impactful contributions to a wide range of UK charitable causes. She was instrumental in building the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust into one of the largest philanthropic funds in the country, donating £400 million to causes across Health, Welfare, and the Arts, primarily within the UK.
*CHAIN report: April 2023 – March 2024, compared with the same period in 2014 – 2015.