St. Giles Trust: Creating Safer Communities in the UK

It was the early 1960s and post-war London was in decline. Many had become homeless, insane, alcoholic, lost, or dispossessed. Fr. John Nichols, the vicar of St. Giles Church in Camberwell, saw the need to form a trust “for the purpose of assisting those suffering in soul, mind, or body.” The weekend before, he had just buried three suicides and attended seven attempted ones. Thus, he brought together an eclectic group that included a celebrity boxer and several local dignitaries to form the Camberwell Samaritans. The Crypt of St. Giles Church was cleared of coffins to make room for a center that offered food and shelter to the destitute. One of the first day centers for homeless people, it  was opened by the Queen Mother in 1963.

That day center has since evolved to become St. Giles Trust, a leading charity in the UK that works with ex-offenders, the homeless, and other socially excluded individuals. The organization helps them break the cycle of crime, disadvantage, and offending by offering housing support, vocational training, support into employment, and more. St. Giles Trust also provides prison-based services – its award-winning Peer Advice Project trains serving prisoners to become qualified professionals who support their fellow inmates. In addition, the charity runs a homeless weekday drop-in center which assists the partners and children of offenders as well as young people involved in gang crime. With a mission of creating safer communities throughout the UK, St. Giles Trust helps more than 15,000 people every year.

Prince William, who attended St. Giles Trust's recent 50th anniversary fundraising dinner, praised the organization for its work. “This charity truly inspires me. It has touched the lives of a quarter of a million people over the past five decades,” he said at the event. “These are people from the margins of society who, thanks to this charity, were able to recover from an appalling start and go on to live successful, productive, and positive lives.”