Help to end homelessness in the East Of England

People in Suffolk have the opportunity to watch a much-loved movie and raise money to end homelessness in the East of England at a special drive-in cinema showing taking place on 9 October.

 The ‘Drive in for Hope’ is set to be held at Trinity Park and will see the musical drama ‘The Greatest Showman’ shown, with the proceeds of all tickets going to support those who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness. The showing comes a day before World Homeless Day, which is observed globally on 10 October.

 The event is taking place to mark the launch of Hopestead, a new charity established by Flagship Group, a social housing provider with a goal to solve the housing crisis in the East of England. Hopestead is Flagship’s commitment to ending homelessness.

Marie-Claire Delbrouque, Managing Director of Hopestead said: “We believe everyone deserves a place to call home and our goal at Hopestead is to end homelessness in the East of England.

 “We know this is a big challenge. But by tackling the causes of homelessness and working in partnership with like-minded organisations already working hard to eradicate homelessness, we believe we can meet that challenge.

 “To mark our launch, we wanted to connect people – safely – because we believe in community. And what better way than through a film which is universal and unifying. Drive in for Hope will not only be a fantastic evening, but it will also allow us to raise vital funds that we can use to support those in need. Please do join us.”

 Tickets for the Drive in For Hope cost just £30 per car (plus a small booking fee)  and can be bought on the Hopestead The Suffolk event, which will take place from 7pm – 11pm, will be mirrored by a similar Drive in for Hope taking place on 9 October at Heartsease Lane in Norwich, with The Greatest Showman also being shown.

The film showing will be preceded by short videos from people who Hopestead has been supporting during Covid-19.

 Although officially launching in October, in fact, Hopestead began an initiative earlier, offering support to Flagship Group customers during the pandemic when it became clear that Covid-19 had the potential to increase homelessness. In response, Hopestead has since given out in excess of £350k to support nearly 700 families who might be at risk of losing their homes.

Marie-Claire added: “Now more than ever we are seeing people and communities struggling – which is why the role of Hopestead is so vital. We believe that we have a fundamental responsibility to end homelessness – including working to prevent people losing their homes, such as the financial help that we were able to provide earlier this year during the pandemic.

 “We know that ending homelessness matters because sustainable communities benefit absolutely everyone.

 “We believe passionately in our purpose and we are looking forward to working with partners and organisations with a common interest to bring about this change for good – because we believe that everyone deserves a place to call home.”

*Tickets are on sale now, available from: www.hopestead.org