There are now approximately 4,134 people sleeping rough in the UK on any one night and sleeping rough is on the increase, seeing a 16% rise from just 2015 to 2016. It is a major issue our society is faced with and just by walking through the town centre of any city in the UK you will be able to see there isn’t really enough being done to try and prevent the crisis. Homelessness also effects those of all ages, and despite common misconception can be inflicted upon people from all walks of life.

There is undoubtedly a great desire to help homelessness amongst many groups of people, however, it is often unclear how to help the cause directly. Shelters greatly receive donations of food, old coats, warm jumpers, however the most requested item at a homeless shelter is in fact, would you believe, socks. It makes sense, no one thinks to recycle old socks or believe they can be used again and so they are often discarded without a second thought.

The North-West, where Stand4 Socks was created, has seen the second highest percentage increase in people sleeping rough over the past year.

Stand4 Socks therefore came up with the idea that for every pair of socks we sell, we will give another to a homeless shelter. The socks we give away are especially suited in function, they are thick, black and durable and can be worn for several days. While Stand4 Socks also tries to tackle other global causes, this particular range attempts to help a problem that is happening much closer to us and all around the UK.

We have so far, since November 2016 given away over 1,500 pairs of socks to shelters across Manchester, Liverpool and London, given out directly by us or through shelter partners like the Booth Centre and we only hope to give more in the future.