Having worked for Aspire now for the last two years, I have seen the incredible work that my colleagues, across all projects do. Supporting individuals whom have experienced homelessness, are in recovery, are prison leavers, and refugees.

Rough sleeping is up 27% nationally. In Oxford, the increase is almost double: rough sleeping rose 50% between November 2022 and 2023. We've seen a 115% rise in households in temporary accommodation. People in some of the areas Aspire works in have a life expectancy 12 years lower than that of their peers.

In these extreme circumstances, Aspire's work is helping people to find housing, work, and hope. Every year we support over 1,700 people. Last year we supported 527 people into housing, sustained 342 tenancies, and created 96 new tenancies. Our coaching projects, which help people take steps towards employment, training, and education, support 1506 people a year.

These projects don't just save lives; they also change them. Aspire's work helps people to get off the streets and stay off the streets. I've seen firsthand the positive impact these programmes have, for some of the most marginalised members of our community.

Myself, my colleague Chris Poole from Fundraising, and our partner in the Midcounties Co-operative Aaron Gee are all doing the jump to help support Aspire and the incredible work it does.

Luke Coppuck