Think of others

WHETHER you love or loathe the busy run-up to Christmas, it s all too easy to forget that for some families facing homelessness Christmas can be a truly harrowing time of year. For these families there will be no turkey dinner to enjoy while pulling crac

WHETHER you love or loathe the busy run-up to Christmas, it's all too easy to forget that for some families facing homelessness Christmas can be a truly harrowing time of year.

For these families there will be no turkey dinner to enjoy while pulling crackers with their kids. Instead, they may face Christmas day stuck in damp, cold, cramped accommodation.

There are 92 households living in temporary accommodation in Huntingdonshire alone, and many of these will include families with children who are having their health, education and future chances ruined by homelessness.

But you can really help make a difference in the run-up to Christmas. By popping into your local Marks & Spencer and buying some specially-labelled food products or Christmas cards, you can help to give badly housed and homeless children and their families the chance of a brighter future.

M&S will make a donation to Shelter from the sale of Christmas cards and a range of food products. For this third year of the promotion, M&S has extended the range.

Every purchase really will help Shelter to help others who need it most. As little as £10 could help pay for a call to our free housing advice helpline from someone in a housing crisis, and £100 could pay for a Shelter adviser to give ongoing face-to-face support to a family threatened by homelessness or trapped in appalling housing conditions.

I hope the readers of The Hunts Post will join me in supporting this initiative between Shelter and Marks & Spencer.

TAMZIN OUTHWAITE, Shelter, London