Jess Brown-Fuller MP Highlights Vital Work of Stonepillow to Tackle Rough Sleeping

Jess Brown-Fuller has praised the life-changing work of local charity Stonepillow, while warning that charities should not have to fill the gaps left by underfunded public services. 

 Speaking in Parliament, the Chichester MP drew attention to the important role the homelessness charity plays across the Chichester area in combatting rough sleeping. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyftI7tewYE

Jess highlights the work of Stonepillow in Parliament, praising charities supporting those struggling with homelessness in Chichester.

During her intervention, Jess emphasised that while the charitable and voluntary sector is doing admirable work, it should not be forced to compensate for local authorities too poorly funded to support people. Jess also noted that although her constituency is often viewed as affluent, a range of serious social challenges still exist, often unnoticed. 

Stonepillow was founded in 1989 after the death of a homeless man on the streets of Chichester. The tragedy prompted members of St Richard’s Catholic Church to come together and establish a charity dedicated to supporting people experiencing homelessness. 

Since then, Stonepillow has gone on to support thousands of people across Chichester area, developing a comprehensive pathway that focuses on health, housing and employment. 

Afterwards Jess said,  

“Stonepillow does fantastic work supporting homeless individuals across Chichester. The services they provide are well known to have helped many people, and I've been delighted to support their work in the past and will continue to do so in the future. 

It is also true that charities like Stonepillow should not have to fill the gaps in service provision left by the underfunding of local authorities. We need a new national, cross-government plan to end homelessness once and for all, one that prioritises building new social homes and plugs the gaps in local authority finances.”