Homelessness has long been a problem in the UK but anyone living in the country cannot have failed to notice the alarming rise in the number of homeless people on the streets in the past few years, with pop tents on the pavements in London and other major cities becoming a distressingly familiar image happen.
The charity Shelter has been running since 1966 to help those without a home or living in bad housing and it says that 65,000 families (and 131,000 children) are homeless in Britain today. For one of the richest nations in the world, these are shocking and shameful numbers.
Passenger (aka Mike Rosenberg) has obviously been moved by this and, while no one person alone can solve the escalating problem, he wants to help as much as he can. As such, he says that all the profits from his new album (Sometimes It’s Something, Sometimes It’s Nothing At All) will go directly to Shelter’s Family Support Services.
FSS is operational in seven different locations in the UK and offers vital support to families falling through the cracks in the welfare state. “When I started out, I spent a lot of time busking around the UK and in Brighton where I live, which really opened my eyes to the number of people forced to sleep rough,” said Passenger. “So, I was even more shocked when Shelter told me about the thousands of homeless families out there, hidden from view in hostels and emergency B&Bs.”
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, added, “With 131,000 homeless children living Britain today, this is a crisis that simply cannot be ignored.”
The album is available to buy or stream from all the usual places and is also available from Passenger’s own store. On his website it says, “This is an entirely independent release. We’re not working with any labels / media partners to ensure that as much money as possible goes to charity.”
Usually we cover campaigns here that are designed to drive revenues for artists and labels but this is a rare occasion where buying an album (not just a single, as is usually the way with charity efforts) will see its profits all go to an incredibly deserving cause.
