Councillor Gerard Hargreaves has been re-elected as the Mayor of Kensington & Chelsea for a second term and chosen to keep homeless charity Glass Door as his Mayoral Charity.
Hargreaves managed to raise over £17,000 for the homeless charity in his first term and will continue to work alongside them in his second.
Councillor Sof McVeigh has also been elected for a second term to stand as Deputy Mayor of Kensington & Chelsea.
Hargreaves said: “Glass Door will be my charity again this year. Everyone at the charity has been an amazing support to people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic and I will be supporting them to meet the new challenges that they face in the year ahead.”
Glass Door CEO Lucy Abraham added: “The support from the mayor comes at a crucial time. We are continuing to adapt to the changing needs of our guests during a pandemic, and this support is needed now more than ever.
“Councillor Hargreaves’ fantastic community connections and spirit of generosity have added real benefit, as seen through the brilliant funds and awareness raised.
“We are honoured to be nominated as Charity of the Year for the mayor’s second term and look forward to a continued fruitful relationship.”
Glass Door hosts annual events to raise money and the mayor and other council members took part in last year’s SleepOut event.
The event took place during the height of Storm Alex in October and was live-streamed from Duke of York Square with a star-studded line up that included Colin Firth, Jim Carter, as well as Mayor Hargreaves.
Glass Door promotes other events to raise money as well, including marathons and skydiving sessions.
The charity is now calling on the Government to include plans for rough sleepers in their Winter 2021 plan, who are not eligible for publicly funded accommodation and to also consult with charities providing accommodation for these groups.
Last year, the Government set up the ‘Everyone in Campaign’, which saw local authorities providing temporary accommodation for rough sleepers.
Glass Door played a vital role in continuing to support local homeless people to find COVID safe areas to sleep.
