ABOUT

Rates of homelessness in the United Kingdom have skyrocketed in the past ten years. Figures from Shelter, a local homeless charity, show that in 2019 at least 280,000 people were homeless, with almost 4,600 sleeping rough. Since then, COVID-19 has inflicted enormous economic hardship on the world. In the UK alone an additional 70,000 households have been made homeless since the pandemic began, with tens of thousands more at risk. Without a fixed address they find themselves in a lose-lose situation where not having a home makes it virtually impossible to open a bank account, which makes it harder to receive benefits, harder to secure a job, harder to find a home. It’s a vicious circle. HSBC UK partnered with Shelter, a homeless charity, to create the No Fixed Address Service. The bank provides bank accounts for the homeless and the charity provides the address needed on the necessary paperwork. This allows the homeless to break the cycle of financial exclusion. To raise awareness amongst those who may need the service and those who might be in a position to help, we used out of home footfall data in 5 cities to target sites based on the rate of homelessness in the area, as well as their proximity to an HSBC UK branch that offered the No Fixed Address service. A mix of specially designed bus shelter vinyl wraps and disruptive fly poster formats in these areas highlighted the two types of homeless, rough sleepers and the invisible sofa surfers (people moving from sofa to sofa). Revealing the struggles they face without access to financial services while introducing the service. We also generated larger reach by appearing in national publications that had previously aligned themselves with homeless causes (including The Guardian and free titles such as the Evening Standard).