UCL Students' 'Street Store' to #MakeLondonHome for the Homeless

A team of UCL students are bringing ‘The Street Store’ to Islington, London on Saturday 28th February, marking the capital’s first premises-free pop-up clothing store for the homeless, stocked with donations.

The Street Store – a brand originally created by M&C Saatchi Abel in Cape Town – uses cut-out cardboard posters to create hanging space for donated articles of clothing and accessories, turning the street into a ‘store’. All donated items are free for the homeless to browse and keep, with hot food also on offer. The team of UCL students are being endorsed by the UCLU Volunteering Services Unit and O2 Think Big.

Free tickets are being offered to local shelters for distribution to the homeless so they can attend the event, which is expected to host three hundred homeless visitors throughout the day with over fifty volunteers involved.

Project leader Liz Nguyen said: “Many students and Londoners complain about increasing rents, while ignoring homelessness and dismissing it as something the government should solve."

"We passionately want to change London’s perspective of homelessness, instilling a more positive attitude, while giving back to the community we are privileged to work, study, and live in," she said.

"We believe the clothes we choose to wear is the way in which we see ourselves. For many of our visitors it may have been a long time since they were able to choose their own clothes – rather than take what they are given – making this a truly empowering experience.”

To donate clothing towards The Street Store, or to volunteer to help at the event, click here.

The students are also running a wider campaign with the hashtag #MakeLondonHome to raise awareness of the issue of homelessness in London.