Wrap Up Warm Campaign

more information on Wrap Up Warm...

This week, temperatures in London have dropped below freezing. Winter is upon us. It is big coat season.

It is also, for many thousands of people who sleep rough on the streets of our capital, the most testing time of year, physically and mentally. It is why this festive period, Chelsea Football Club and Chelsea Foundation have teamed up with Barons Court Project and other charities tackling homelessness across London to try, with your help, to make a difference.

‘Warm clothing can be life-saving during severe weather,’ says Guan Chow, one of the stars of our Wrap Up Warm campaign video and someone who spent six months sleeping rough in London.

‘As well as keeping you warm, it helps you feel more secure. Once you warm up, you are able to carry out everyday activities and tasks.

‘It’s not just physically; mentally as well you feel more secure and comfortable. When you are in that situation, you are so vulnerable. The struggle is trying to survive mentally from day to day. You need to know where to get help.’

Guan found it in the Barons Court Project, which he stumbled across when he was rough sleeping. It is Hammersmith & Fulham’s only day centre for people who are homeless, on the edge of homelessness (often in hostels or insecure accommodation) and at great risk of ending up on the streets, or for people living with mental health conditions.

In 2025, Barons Court Project will have been running for 40 years. But this is no time to celebrate. While they have helped thousands upon thousands of people get off the streets and back on with their lives, the number of rough sleepers in London has risen in each of the past 14 years. Over the same period, services that tackle the issue, such as Barons Court Project, have declined. Demand is outweighing supply.

It is an uphill struggle and one that Michael Angus, director of the Barons Court Project, is determined to keep fighting. He says the project exists ‘to be a home for people who do not have one, and a home for people who may not feel at home within themselves'.

To achieve that, Barons Court Project split their work into three different areas of focus: body, mind, and spirit. Our Wrap Up Warm campaign, encouraging supporters to hand over warm clothing or donate financially, will help with the first of those sections, the most basic.

‘It’s all the services we provide that cater for the physical being that you wouldn’t have if you’re living on the streets,’ Michael explains. ‘That could be meals, showers, laundry, access to clothing, visiting nurses, dentistry, opticians, podiatry, we do haircuts for each other, and so on.

‘Warm clothing is one of the ways people can help, particularly because clothes don’t last as long when you’re living on the streets, or if you have a warm spell you might get rid of it because you carry everything you own on your back and it can weigh you down.

‘The key thing from my perspective is the first step,’ Michael continues.

‘The shower in the morning, the clothing, and the meal are the three things that make you feel human. I don’t believe we have permission to start talking about people’s issues and trying to solve them until we have met those other basic needs. It’s a really important first step that enables us to do the rest.’

Barons Court Project give out thousands of pieces of clothing each year. They have to ration the socks and the thermals they distribute because of demand and a limitation on washing facilities. Michael says new socks, men’s underwear and thermals will be the most gratefully received items at our Stamford Bridge matchdays. He points out football socks can be extra useful as they come up above the knees. Coats, jumpers, hoodies and the like will always be appreciated, too, he says.

Supporters who are not able to come to games can still make a huge difference. A £3 donation will pay for a meal and a hot shower at Barons Court Project, which is just over a mile from Stamford Bridge. Larger donations could help amplify one-to-one work under the mind section of their three-pronged strategy: perhaps aid social housing or job applications, or updating a CV.

‘Barons Court Project is such an important organisation in serving the community,’ says Guan, who now volunteers daily by way of thanking them for their help turning his life around.

‘It is a warm, safe, comfortable and friendly place for anyone using that facility. It doesn’t just serve a purpose for rough sleepers. It makes people feel like they belong to a community. That is quite important mentally.

‘For seventy per cent of people who have been rough sleeping, one way or another, it’s tied up with mental health issues. The two go hand in hand. They need the mental support as well as the physical support, which BCP provide.’

Guan suffered from depression and anxiety when he was homeless. He found it very difficult connecting, interacting, and talking with people. He couldn’t look anyone in the eye, such was the shame and stigma he experienced.

‘People feel like they’re invisible,’ says Michael. ‘They just want to exist and survive, but we want them to move beyond that for a fuller life.’

For Guan, that meant focusing on his artistic abilities. Art is a therapeutic exercise that allows people to express themselves when they cannot verbalise what they really want to say. Encouraged by Michael, Guan has spent the past four years painting for Homeless Made, a social enterprise with artwork by people who are experiencing or have experienced homelessness or mental health problems. Guan has already sold 35,000 of his beautiful cards, with tote bags and t-shirts also available. His is very much a success story.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for everyone. Earlier this month, at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in Trafalgar Square, Michael attended the annual remembrance service for people who died homeless. He says 131 names were read out, while a further 60 died in anonymity. In London, every other day, someone who is homeless loses their life.

Michael knows solving such a huge societal problem is a nigh-on impossible task, but he is also acutely aware how small gestures – donating a coat, for example – can trigger a process that profoundly changes lives for the better, right on our doorstep.

‘This campaign will raise awareness and keep the conversation going for that person that felt invisible,’ he says. ‘It increases visibility and the commitment to end rough sleeping.

‘For me, it’s about the fact our guests will know people care, and have made a choice to donate something to someone they will probably never meet, as a way of saying, ‘we stand with you and we want to make a difference’.

‘It’s about that sense of coming together. Barons Court Project is a community that meets whenever people are there. As staff members, volunteers and guests, we are one group of people. We are trying to be as inclusive as possible. We are not people’s family, we know that, but we want to be the equivalent of that.

‘We’ve got to treat people as human beings, and get across to our guests they are loved and cared for,’ Michael adds. ‘Many of them don’t feel that. If you have lost all your family and your friends and connections, that feeling inside is the biggest problem you have to overcome.

‘We try not to have a hierarchy. That’s when the success comes in. It’s like football. If you didn’t have your goalie or your defender, it wouldn’t work. It’s about working together, coming together.’

Michael rubs his chest.

‘We have gone beyond Cole Palmer’s celebration. We are now warming people’s hearts.’

You can make a financial donation which will be granted to charities in London such as Barons Court Project tackling homelessness and its roots causes all year round.

Wrap Up Warm Campaign

more information on Wrap Up Warm...

At Stamford Bridge, for the upcoming fixtures against Aston Villa and Brentford, the matchday clothing drop-off point is situated at Stamford Gate behind the security checkpoints.

All preferably new or gently used
Warm winter coats
Winter hats
Gloves
Jumpers/hoodies
Trousers
Shoes

New, we cannot take second hand of these
Socks
Men's underwear
Thermal vests/Long johns

You can find out more about Barons Court Project on X and Instagram.

Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has worked with Barons Court Project for a number of years with various initiatives and campaigns, such as its annual Big Stamford Bridge Sleep Out when those taking part spend the night outside at the stadium to raise funds.