Non-profits - Shelter

Rev Bruce Kenrick was an English social activist and Minister in the United Reformed Church and the Church of Scotland. He is best known for writing "Come out the Wilderness" and as the founder of British housing organisation Shelter

Shelter is a UK charity that aims to combat bad housing and homelessness, offering help for struggling people in the form of expert advice, and legal support, as well as fundraising and campaiging with the local government and the media, in order to bring about change. Shelter’s ultimate dream is that nobody will need their help any more, because all housing problems will be solved. 

The charity’s services operate in a variety of ways. They lobby and campaign local and national government regarding housing and homelessness, as well as carrying out groundbreaking social research to get to the heart of the problem and create effective solutions. They also work alongside the media in order to get vulnerable people’s voices heard. ​

Shelter is a not-for-profit organisation, and relies on the generous donations of the public as a significant source of income. Out of every pound that is donated, 79p is spent on helping people directly, and 21p is spent on fundraising initiatives.

History
Shelter was launched in 1966 by a minister named Bruce Kendrick. It grew out of work he had already started in Notting Hill, London, to help homeless people in the area. The birth of Shelter, coincidentally, happened around the time a powerful BBC television series was released, called Cathy Come Home. This production was written by Jeremy Sandford, and directed by Ken Loach. It directly challenged the issue of homelessness in Britain, triggering a great uproar among the public, and demands on the government to make reforms. ​

A prominent social campaigner at the time, named Des Wilson, influenced by the messages in Cathy Come Home played a significant part in the formation of this revolutionary new charity.

The founder
Bruce Kendrick, born and bred in Liverpool, initially trained for a career in accountancy, but during the Second World War, became involved in the Gold Coast Defence Force as a medic. Following this, he began to pursue a career as a doctor. This brought him to St Andrews, where he began to study medicine. At university, he became involved with missionary work, which inspired him to give up medicine to study divinity instead!

After graduation, he moved to New York and started to work in the East Harlem Protestant Parish Project, which was affiliated with the Union Theological Seminary. After he came home to the UK, Kendrick started to work in Notting Hill, London. This area was torn apart by racism and unfair landlords. ​

Seeing the way things were run in Notting Hill greatly disturbed Kendrick to the point where he decided to do something about it. Over a long period of time, he set up the Notting Hill Housing Trust. This had a significant impact on the area, and kept the community from falling apart completely. This was a very difficult and challenging time for Kendrick and his associates, but Shelter grew up out of it, and started a great momentum in their campaigning efforts. ​

Bruce Kendrick, following a disagreement related to the running of the organisation, stepped down from his position at Shelter, and went on to continue his work in the Church. He worked in Scotland and Cuba, and eventually would have a great influence on modern Christianity in the UK.

Get involved
There are loads of ways you can help make a difference, and help Shelter do what they do best. There are Shelter charity shops across the country, as well as opportunities to take part in fundraising events, volunteering, and donating money.

To find out more about the work Shelter does, and see some real stories of lives they have helped to change for the better, head on over to https://england.shelter.org.uk/donate