Happy Birthday to the heart of HUG, Pauline! 🎂🎁❤️
Today, the HUG family is bursting with joy as we celebrate our incredible leader, Pauline. She is the one who guides are mission forward every single day and we couldn’t do any of this without her steady hand and her compassionate heart.
Because Pauline is famously “not a cake person,” we celebrate her in true HUG style, with birthday bananas and candles, beautiful flowers and some special little gifts to show our deep appreciation.
Pauline, you spend your life looking after the vulnerable and making sure everyone has a “hug” when they need it. Today it was our absolute pleasure to look after you.
Thank you for your dedication and for being the light that guides the HUG homelessness charity. We hope your day is as wonderful as the impact you make on other.
Happy Birthday x
Extraordinary Achievers Award 2026
HUGs Project Manager Pauline Goubert Honoured with Extraordinary Achievers Award 2026
We are thrilled to announce that on Saturday, March 7th, our very own Project Manager, Pauline Goubert, was named a winner at the 2026 Extraordinary Achievers Awards. This prestigious award celebrates individuals who demonstrate an unwavering dedication to service, profound compassion, and a significant social impact within their communities. It is a particular proud moment for us, as the ceremony highlights the vital contributions made but those working within the small charity sector.
Pauline has been the driving force behind our mission to support the homeless community. Her leadership goes far beyond project management, as she brings a personal touch of kindness and resilience to everything she does. Whether she is coordinating essential services or offering a listening ear to those need, Pauline embodies the spirit of our charity.
This recognition is a testament to her hard work and the heart she puts into her role every single day. Please join us in congratulating Pauline on this well-deserved honour!
Trustee ran Eastbourne Half Marathon March 2026
Going the Extra Mile for HUG
A massive congratulations to our wonderful Trustee, Ben, for completing the Eastbourne Half Marathon on Sunday 8th March, 2026. Ben didn’t just run miles, he ran every step with our mission in mine raising over £500.00, vital funds for the HUG homelessness charity.
Ben finished in an incredible two hours six minutes, showing the same dedication and stamina he brings to our board of trustees. We are so proud to have him on our team. Thank you Ben for your strength, your spirit and for going the distance to help those in need.
Sleep In at St Barnabas Church 2026
Bexhill MP joins volunteers and councillors for charity “Sleep In at St Barnabas Church”
Bexhill and Battle MP Dr. Kieran Mullan joined supporters of the Bexhill and Rother Homelessness Unity Group (HUG) for a “Sleep In” at St Barnabas Church in Sea Road, Bexhill on Friday 27th February 2026.
Bexhill‘s Deputy Mayor Memish Huseyin and Rother District Councillor Gareth Delaney also braved the cold and spent the night on the church floor.
HUG is a local charity that supports people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or vulnerably housed. Run from St Barnabas Church, the charity offers food, hot drinks, showers and laundry facilities, providing a safe place for people to rest and connect and socialise in a non-judgemental environment.
The ”Sleep In” saw HUG volunteers, trustees and those with lived experienced of homelessness spend the night at St. Barnabas Church, to show solidarity with those who have experienced homelessness and to raise awareness of the issue in the local area.
The event also created an opportunity for those staying overnight to have honest discussions about housing issues and homelessness locally and to consider possible solutions together.
HUG Project Manager Pauline Goubert said, “The ‘Sleep In’ brought our community together in a powerful show of solidarity, changing the myths and stereotypes that so often surround homelessness. Many of the people we support are now losing their homes because of the rising cost of living, with increasing numbers of pensioners and disabled people struggling to keep up. ‘The Sleep In’ also gave us the space to have honest conversations about how we shift the dial and pushed for real solutions. The shortage of affordable housing locally and the mismatch between housing benefits and actual rental cost are leaving far too many people at risk. Homelessness is too big for any one person or organisation, but by bringing people from different backgrounds together and actually listening to each other, we can create solutions that truly change lives.”
Dr. Kieran Mullan said, ”There are rarely quick fixes to the challenges of homelessness and the support offered through a wide variety of public sectors and voluntary organisations recognise that individuals experiencing homelessness often have some very complex issues. There are always challenges to decide how taxpayers money should be spent but whatever view people hold about the cause and solutions, I have always felt as an MP, I should hear from and think about people living in some of the most difficult circumstances in my constituency. In addition, it is always important to recognise the work of individuals who spend their time and effort in helping others. I am grateful to all the volunteers at HUG and other local homelessness charities in the constituency for all that they do.”
Cllr Gareth Delaney said, “ Homelessness it’s not an abstract issue. It is happening in our streets and our town, and tackling it requires all of us - councils, charities, communities - working together. HUG is an outstanding example of what compassionate, community led action looks like in practice.”
Could you please help?
Local Authority: Rother
Thank you HUG for signing the letter to party leaders
England’s housing system has been broken by successive governments
Politicians have ignored the housing emergency, they have not built enough social homes and now homelessness is at a record high. Thousands of people are stuck in poor-quality, over priced housing that’s taking a devastating toll on our physical and mental health. This is England’s housing emergency and it’s getting worse.
Some Good News !
Shelter Campaigners Successfully Winning
No, it’s not a November heatwave - but it is 36,600 Shelter campaigners successfully winning an end to the housing benefit freeze that will bring down record levels of homelessness. Even better! 😎
Today the chancellor has finally seen sense and announced in his Autumn Statement that he will be ending the three-year-long freeze on housing benefits.
This will:
massively help people who have been struggling with shortfalls to their rent
✔
prevent homelessness by helping people to afford a new home if they have to move
help people who are homeless to get out of temporary accommodation and into a settled home ✔️
However, people need help now and delaying this measure until April next year is not good enough. It will leave many families facing a nerve-wracking winter with soaring rents and the looming threat of homelessness, or trapped in temporary accommodation.
So we will be calling on the government to urgently bring the end of the freeze forward.
One thing is for sure though, today’s news wouldn’t have been possible without you.
Unfreeze Housing Benefits
Jeremy Hunt make the right choice!
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has a choice to make.
Will he fail to protect renters by keeping housing benefit frozen? Or will he do what's needed?
We stand with thousands of others who have emailed their MP demanding change. With 900,000 households facing shortfalls in their rent.
Alongside 131,000 children who are homeless with their families this winter.
The more of us calling for change, the harder we are to ignore.
Homelessness Charities Warns Government
Funding cuts will force us to close, homelessness charities warn Government
A poll of over 70 homelessness charities found that one in four feared the cost of living crisis risked their service having to shut down. Charities point to Government figures that show rough sleeping increased by 168% between 2010 and 2017, when ministers pursued an austerity agenda. More than 30 homelessness charities have warned the Government that services for people with nowhere to live or fleeing domestic abuse could be forced to close if their funding is not increased in line with inflation.
In an open letter to Jeremy Hunt, and shared with 32 charities, urge the Chancellor to increase funding for homelessness and rough sleeping services when he announced his Medium-Term Fiscal Statement at the end of this month, amid warnings that Government departments will be forced to make cuts. Instead of cutting funding for homelessness services, funding must be increased in line with inflation to ensure charities can cope with the increased demand caused by the cost of living crisis. With inflation now in double digits, Homeless Link CEO, Rick Henderson, said charities were “simply asking for an uplift in funding to mirror rising costs and help us provide meaningful, person-centred support to all those who need it“. He added, “If the Chancellor does not uplift the funding package, real-terms cuts to homelessness budgets today will continue to be felt years down the line, both by those pushed into insecurity and the public purse.”
World Homeless Day 2022
Signed, Sealed, Delivered, Liz Truss it’s yours!
Today, on World Homeless Day 2022, we are reminding the government that it “can” solve the housing emergency.
We have delivered your message to Prime Minister Liz Truss.
We have been collecting messages from thousands of campaigners, telling the government to get a grip on the housing emergency. Today on World Homeless Day, we went to Number 10 to hand them in.
Thousands of people are on the brink of homelessness with sky-high rents, not enough social homes and the cost of living crises. The previous government made lots of promises about fixing this, so we are reminding PM Liz Truss about it, as they’re the promises that won the government a majority.
She must keep their pledge to:
Pass the Social Housing Regulation Bill to finally put social tenants safety first
Level Up by building social housing
Bring forward the Renters Reform Bill to give renters the rights and security they need
End rough sleeping by 2024
Social housing has been neglected and underfunded for too long. There are now almost 60,000 homeless families trapped in unstable temporary accommodation, moving from one stopgap place to the next, making it even harder to get back on their feet. Private renters are at their wit’s end. This can’t go on.
By speaking up, you’re showing the government that these problems need to be acted on now. Thank you for being a part of this movement.