We’re asking people across the North East to help provide Christmas meals in Newcastle for people experiencing the challenges of homelessness, with support from Newcastle Cathedral and The Oswin Project.
Through Changing Lives’ Christmas Meal Appeal 2026, a £5 donation provides a Christmas meal, helping someone enjoy a hot dinner, a place at the table and the company of others during what can be an especially difficult and lonely time of year.
This December, we’re bringing people together for a Christmas meal in Newcastle on 22nd December 2026.
Christmas meal in Newcastle
In Newcastle, we will once again work with Newcastle Cathedral and Café 16, run by The Oswin Project, to provide a Christmas meal at the cathedral on 22nd December.
The meal will welcome people experiencing the challenges of homelessness, including those sleeping rough. It will offer an opportunity to come together over food and conversation in the days leading up to Christmas.
Further information about timings and attendance arrangements will be shared ahead of the event.
Why support is needed across the North East
New figures published by the Office for National Statistics on 1st October 2026 estimate that 40 deaths of people experiencing homelessness were registered in the North East in 2025.[1] Behind each number is a person and the people who knew and loved them.
The Government’s latest annual rough sleeping snapshot also shows growing pressure across the region. An estimated 162 people were sleeping rough on a single night in the North East in autumn 2025, compared with 124 in autumn 2024. That 31% increase was the largest percentage rise of any English region.[2]
In Newcastle, the estimated number of people sleeping rough on a single night more than doubled, rising from 21 in autumn 2024 to 46 in autumn 2025, an increase of 119%.[2]
These rough sleeping figures are single-night estimates, rather than the total number of people experiencing homelessness.
This year’s appeal remembers those who have died while experiencing homelessness and calls on our communities to help more people find warmth, welcome and a place at the table this Christmas.
A warm meal and a sense of belonging
Stephen Bell OBE, Chief Executive of Changing Lives, said:
“An empty seat at Christmas can mean someone we love is no longer with us. It can also remind us of someone who is still here but has become separated from family, friends and the community around them.
“These figures are about people. People with relationships, memories and hopes for the future. The loss of 40 people experiencing homelessness in our region is a reminder of why this work matters, while the rise in rough sleeping shows how much support is needed.
“A Christmas meal cannot resolve the challenges of homelessness. But being welcomed, sharing a hot dinner and having someone to talk to can matter enormously. We want people to know they are part of our community and that they have not been forgotten.
“We’re grateful to Newcastle Cathedral and The Oswin Project for helping us bring people together this Christmas. By donating £5 or supporting the appeal through your workplace or community, you can help someone have a meal and a place at the table.”
How to support our Christmas Meal Appeal
We’re aiming to raise £200,000 through our wider Christmas appeal. Funds raised beyond the cost of Christmas meals will help us continue providing practical and longer-term support for people experiencing the challenges of homelessness and other difficult circumstances.
You can support the appeal by donating £5 to provide a Christmas meal, organising a festive fundraiser or getting your workplace, school or community group involved.
Christmas jumper days, bake sales, raffles and sponsorship are all ways to help bring people together and raise funds.
Donate £5 to provide a Christmas meal, or find out how to get involved.
Sources
[1] Office for National Statistics: Deaths of people experiencing homelessness in England and Wales, 2013 to 2025 registrations, published 1 October 2026. Figures are estimates based on deaths registered in 2025; a death may have occurred in an earlier year.
[2] Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Rough sleeping snapshot in England, autumn 2025, published 26 February 2026. Regional figures appear in Table 2.2.1 and Newcastle figures in Table 2.3.2.