The Arsenal Foundation has helped to fund Street Storage, the only charity in the country providing free, safe and accessible storage to people experiencing homelessness. Founder and CEO Rachel Woolf tells us how it works and why our money matters.
“I live locally in north west London. My grandfather was a dedicated Arsenal supporter until his death in 2020 – I have such fond memories of watching Match of the Day together and his house was filled with Gunners paraphernalia. I’ve supported Arsenal ever since.
“I’ve worked with the homelessness community since 2012: in shelters, day centres and in drug and alcohol provision. I’m older than I look!
“Founding Street Storage has been the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done. In 2018, I was working in a day centre in Islington and everyone kept asking me if they could store their belongings onsite. The same thing happened in my previous role at an Islington night shelter – people would tell me of their items being lost, stolen, damaged, urinated on or even burnt while they slept vulnerably or outside.
“Despite a huge ‘homelessness sector’ providing housing, employment support, wellbeing services and day services, there was nowhere in its own right that allowed people to safely store their belongings; no service that would allow freedom to access services, to attend appointments, to secure employment and housing and to give people back their sense of identity away from being “homeless” – and being judged for it.
“After some further ‘market research’ I decided to do it myself. I set up a website, wrote some policies and secured a little office at the Almorah Community Centre and an outbuilding in Hornsey Road – there was space for 20 people’s belongings that I planned to fill in a few months. It took just three days. This was evidence to me that there was a clear need for this kind of service.
“Since 2019, Street Storage has grown incredibly quickly. We moved from two other units into our current, 3,000 square foot space in Kings Cross. We’ve since hired a team of five staff, tripled our income/expenditure and now support more than 500 people a year with storage and one to one advocacy. We are currently receiving pan-London referrals from more than 700 people annually. We store up to three bags per person – everything from photos to work tools, ID documents to winter coats – but the service is so much more than shelves. We allow people to reclaim who they are and what they want from life. We work with people on a one-to-one basis to support them with issues around employment, wellbeing, housing and education, and we give people freedom.
“These are people like the chef who would collect his whites and knives for the evening, work a shift and return them in the morning. There’s the dad who kept his large rucksack and sleeping bag with us to attend school plays and sports days without judgement from parents, and the woman who stored the ashes of a loved one so they wouldn’t get wet or thrown out. We’ve even stored for a man who worked security shifts at (another!) of London’s large football stadiums.
“As a small charity, we are not alone in facing some common challenges. There’s securing sustainable and core fundraising: so many grants, trusts, foundations and corporates want to fund new restricted activities only and we need to simply continue to provide the existing service that is still so needed. The Arsenal Foundation supported us this year with a contribution to core costs in exactly this way. There’s demand: homelessness is rising in London by 25 per cent year on year, and as a result demand for our small but essential – and unique – service continues to grow.
“Then there’s wellbeing – high demand takes its toll on staff and volunteers so making sure people in the team are well cared for and supported better allows them to support people using our service in difficult situations. For me, it’s important to remember that these challenges are not unusual or unique to us and that they are crucial for us to address so we can continue to free people from having to carry everything they own. Free people from the judgement of others and free people to focus further on rebuilding their lives.
“I am proud to be part of a dedicated team of people who care so much about the work they do. I am proud of the fact we provide such a needed, practical service: one that has an immediate and far-reaching impact. We work in contrast to a number of overly bureaucratic, larger organisations and try to bring hope to people in an ever-restrictive, sometimes life-threatening ‘homelessness system’.
“Arsenal is setting an example for clubs everywhere. Not only to support local people, but to support organisations in the ways that they need. Listening to organisations and the people working within them is key to addressing some of the most painful and unacceptable situations in our society in 2025. Thank you for your support of the club – and of us through The Arsenal Foundation. It means a lot to be recognised by a team so precious to my childhood but also to be recognised by a team so internationally acclaimed. I wish my Grandad was still around to see it.
**So this is Christmas**
There is no good time to be homeless, but Christmas can be particularly difficult. You can help people who use Street Storage by purchasing gifts (including essentials such as sanitary towels and holdalls, food and drink, and items such as backpacks, sleeping bags and charging stations) or donating money directly.
You can also raise free donations while doing your Christmas shopping online! Click [here](https://www.streetstorage.org/support) and then click on the button “Shop with Easy Fundraising”.
**Can you help?**
For more information, to make a donation or find out how you can help make a difference visit [www.streetstorage.org/support](https://www.streetstorage.org/support).
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