London Overground stations along the future Mildmay line partner with Crisis to fundraise on World Homeless Day

Transport for London (TfL) and Arriva Rail London have partnered with the national homelessness charity Crisis to fundraise on World Homeless Day at five stations along what will become the London Overground Mildmay line later this year.

On Thursday 10 October, any customers who buy hot drinks at cafes at Camden Road, Gospel Oak, Hackney Central, Highbury & Islington, and Shepherd’s Bush London Overground stations will support people experiencing homelessness. TfL and Arriva Rail London will donate the cost of those hot drinks to Crisis up to £1,000 per station*, and Crisis volunteers will also fundraise at stations along the London Overground Mildmay line. Alongside this, TfL will host various charities across the transport network to further raise awareness of homelessness and how to support those who are homeless.

Arriva Rail London is also partnering with City Harvest this October to help deliver 50,000 meals to those in need across the capital. London Overground staff will host food collection points at 17 London Overground stations and will work with City Harvest to divert quality food from local businesses that would otherwise go to waste and redistribute it to those facing food poverty across London.**

Later this year, London Overground lines will be given new names and colours in a historic change to capital’s transport network. The London Overground line, which runs between Richmond and Clapham Junction to Stratford, will be named the Mildmay line to honour the small NHS charitable hospital that has been caring for all Londoners over many years, notably its pivotal role in the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s and its ongoing work to support people experiencing homelessness today.

Crisis partners with Pathway, the leading homeless healthcare charity, which works with Mildmay Hospital. The hospital became the first specialist unit aiming to provide a pioneering step-down medical service to support people experiencing homeless in London and surrounding areas in 2020.*** Mildmay Hospital now runs a ground-breaking service employing the expertise of doctors, nurses and therapists to ease the burden on NHS hospitals by providing rehabilitative healthcare for people are facing homelessness or rough sleeping and recovering from illness or injury. Once discharged from Mildmay, the aim is that people will be supported by specialist homelessness charities.

Trish Ashton, Director of Rail Services at TfL, said: “Homelessness affects too many people in the capital and we are committed to doing all we can to support them. Mildmay was chosen as one of the new names for the six London Overground lines in part because of their pioneering work to support people experiencing homelessness.

“We hope that our activities along what will become the London Overground Mildmay line later this year on World Homeless Day will not only help to raise thousands of pounds to support the vital work Crisis does to support people experiencing homelessness across London and the UK but will encourage our customers to think about how they can also support homeless charities.”