Sleep-out donations for homeless charity dip to £8k
A charity that supports homeless people with a sleep-out saw its donations halve to £8,000 for this year's event on Friday night.
The Hope Centre, in Northampton, has been running The Big Sleep-Out for over a decade, raising money and awareness on homelessness.
Kyra Williams, head of marketing for the charity, said the figure was less than half the amount raised at last year's event and "it costs us around £1,000 a day to run the homeless centre".
The charity reported a 30% increase in the number of people who have used its services over the past year, and is now seeing about 65 people a day.
Last month, Hope repurposed its office area, which is next to its hub in Campbell Street, to make room for 35 beds for rough sleepers.
Ms Williams emphasised the importance of collaboration with local authorities to find solutions to homelessness.
"Working together, you can find solutions. That is the way forward," she said.
Nick Wilson, who took part in the sleep-out, had experience of sleeping on the streets before joining the Army.
"I want to raise awareness of how homelessness doesn't equate to just rough sleeping," he said.
"I found this out 16 months ago when my landlord sold the property from under me."
Adam Brown, Leader of West Northamptonshire Council, said: "With growing demand and increased pressures on services, we need to identify new ways of working to best utilise our resources and meet people's needs."
The council started a Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy last year, with an aim of building 650 affordable homes a year by 2029-30.
Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Sleep-out fundraiser 'crucial' to homeless charity
Charity turns office into shelter during cold snap
West Northamptonshire Council
The Hope Centre
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Total collapse': Hamilton home builders want break on city fees
Hamilton's residential construction industry is asking the city to temporarily cut development charges in half to help weather a severe market downturn. But city officials point out offering breaks on the fees means the forgone revenue must be realized elsewhere. 'And that somewhere will likely be a shift onto taxpayers,' Coun. Maureen Wilson said in a recent discussion at city hall. But without such relief, along with support from the provincial and federal governments, the prospects are grim, the West End Home Builders' Association warned. 'The market is in total collapse,' CEO Mike Collins-Williams told city officials. 'Projects across the city and region are on pause as our members are having extreme difficulty launching and selling any units, with condo inventory starting to pile up.' 'The market is in total collapse,' Mike Collins-Williams, CEO of the West End Home Builders' Association, recently told councillors. The ripple effect has been layoffs in the trades, but also other sectors such as architecture, engineering and planning, Collins-Williams said. Tariffs imposed by the United States on Canadian goods — including steel and aluminum — have hit local workers hard and discouraged people from buying new homes, he said. Meanwhile, hiked construction costs, higher interest rates and spiking unemployment are 'decimating' the residential construction industry. But the city can 'lower the price floor' of new homes through changes to development charges to help keep the sector 'afloat' and 'thousands of people employed,' Collins-Williams said. In addition to cutting development charges by 50 per cent for two years across the board, the city should waive them altogether for downtown projects over the same period, he said. The association's plea comes as the city examines ways to offer relief amid the market slowdown and tariff crisis. Municipalities rely on development charges to pay for a variety of infrastructure that's required to service growth, including recreation centres, water treatment plants and fire stations. Hamilton collects the fees from developers through a highly prescribed provincial process that's based on detailed background studies. But developers, along with the provincial and federal governments, have pressured municipalities to lower the charges to spur more housing amid a national housing crisis. Even before U.S. President Donald Trump foisted tariffs on Canada, residential construction — especially higher-density, multi-unit projects — was slowing down . Last year, Hamilton had 1,481 housing starts (essentially when foundations are poured), down from 3,347 starts in 2023. To help, the city is examining a range of measures, including deferring the collection of development charges from the time of building permit issuance to occupancy of new buildings. Exempting two- and three-bedroom units from the fees and pausing the phase-out of existing downtown exemptions are other measures on the table. Those were 'intended to serve as a starting point for public consultation,' a finance staff report notes, pointing out feedback was sought from the industry. The proposed bylaw changes have also been open for wider public consultation. A key consideration is that, under provincial law, breaks on certain development charges can't be compensated through hikes to others. As such, this restricts Hamilton's ability to raid upwards of $500 million in development-charge reserve funds to pay for whatever exemptions or discounts are offered. 'I appreciate these are large values, and they're tied to big infrastructure projects,' Mike Zegarac, general manager of finance and corporate services, told councillors. Zegarac noted 50 per cent cuts in development charges in Mississauga and Vaughan don't factor in those municipalities' regional fees. An 'apples to apples' comparison shows Hamilton's existing rates are competitive, he said. In a letter to the city officials, the Durand Neighbourhood Association noted its opposition to reducing development charges. 'Development requires upgraded infrastructure and those real costs need to be paid in large part by those doing the development,' president Roberta Harman wrote. Moreover, there's 'no way to track' if reductions will translate into the 'equivalent reduction in the price of unit housing.' Staff are also examining how the province's Bill 17 — the recently introduced Protect Ontario by Building Faster and Smarter Act — could supersede the city's potential moves on development charges. They are to report back at the end of July with additional analysis and recommended changes. The public is invited to offer feedback on development-charge measures via email: DCBackgroundStudy@ . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
S&P 500 Gains & Losses Today: Index Drops as Middle East Tensions Rise; Oracle Climbs
The S&P 500 fell 1.1% on Friday, June 13, 2025, as investors weighed the geopolitical implications of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. Shares of payment processors and credit card issuers lost ground after a report said major retailers could disrupt the payment ecosystem by launching stablecoins. Concerns about supply disruptions underpinned a surge in crude oil prices. Shares of oil and gas companies U.S. equities indexes moved lower after Israel conducted attacks targeting Iran's nuclear program and military leadership, prompting a retaliation from Tehran and exacerbating the tense geopolitical environment in the Middle East and across the globe. The S&P 500 lost 1.1% in the week's final trading session. The Dow ended the day 1.8% lower, while the Nasdaq was down 1.3%. Read Investopedia's full daily markets coverage here. Shares of payment processors moved lower after a report in The Wall Street Journal indicated that Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN) are considering issuing their own stablecoins, a move that could help the retail giants sidestep the interchange fees charged by credit-card providers. Shares of business payment solutions provider Corpay (CPAY) dropped 7.7%, falling the most of any S&P 500 stock, while shares of PayPal (PYPL), Visa (V), and Mastercard (MA) also declined. Analysts at Citi downgraded Sherwin-Williams (SHW) stock to "neutral" from "buy," indicating that the persistence of high mortgage rates and softness in the housing market could weigh on the paint distributor's performance in the near term. Sherwin-Williams shares slipped 5.7%. Shares of Adobe (ADBE) were down 5.3%. Although the provider of software for creating and editing digital media posted better-than-expected sales and profits for its fiscal second quarter, several analysts raised concerns about Adobe's progress with its artificial intelligence products, pointing to potential competitive pressure and disruption in the AI space. Oracle (ORCL) shares surged 7.7% on Friday, securing the S&P 500's top performance for a second straight day and extending an all-time high posted in the prior session. The march higher for the stock came after the enterprise software giant exceeded sales and profit estimates for its fiscal fourth quarter and guided for revenue growth driven by its booming cloud infrastructure business. Shares of companies with exposure to biofuel production gained ground after the Trump administration proposed to increase the amount of biofuel that oil refiners must blend into diesel and gasoline over the next two years. Shares of fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings (CF), which is engaged in projects aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of biofuel production, gained 6.5%. Shares of grain processors Bunge Global (BG) and Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) were up 5.7% and 4.7%, respectively. Crude oil futures prices jumped as concerns spread about possible supply impacts from the escalating conflict in the Middle East, even as Iranian officials said the country's oil storage and refining facilities remain operational following Israel's strikes. The rising price of the commodity helped lift oil and gas stocks. Shares of refiner Haliburton (HAL) gained 5.5%, while shares of exploration and production firm APA Corp. (APA) were up 5.3%. Read the original article on Investopedia
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Oxford Industries, Sherwin-Williams, Bill.com, Etsy, and Monday.com Stocks Trade Down, What You Need To Know
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after the major indices pulled back (Nasdaq -1.3%, S&P 500 -1.1%) as Israel carried out significant strikes on Iranian nuclear and military sites, dramatically escalating fears of a broader conflict in the Middle East. This development has sent crude oil prices surging, as investors fear potential disruptions to global oil supply and a wider regional conflict. The conflict intensified market anxiety, compounding volatility, especially in risk assets like stocks, and prompting a pronounced shift toward safe-haven assets. The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks. Among others, the following stocks were impacted: Apparel and Accessories company Oxford Industries (NYSE:OXM) fell 7.5%. Is now the time to buy Oxford Industries? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Building Materials company Sherwin-Williams (NYSE:SHW) fell 5.6%. Is now the time to buy Sherwin-Williams? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Finance and Accounting Software company (NYSE:BILL) fell 5.3%. Is now the time to buy Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Online Marketplace company Etsy (NASDAQ:ETSY) fell 6.3%. Is now the time to buy Etsy? Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Project Management Software company (NASDAQ:MNDY) fell 5.4%. Is now the time to buy Access our full analysis report here, it's free. Oxford Industries's shares are very volatile and have had 20 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today's move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business. The previous big move we wrote about was 1 day ago when the stock dropped 11.6% on the news that the company reported weak first-quarter 2025 results, as it dropped its full-year sales and earnings per share forecast. Taking a closer look at the quarter, revenue fell 1.3% year-on-year, with a big drop in sales at Johnny Was and a smaller dip at Tommy Bahama, which together erased gains at Lilly Pulitzer. Margins took a hit, too, due to a rise in shipping costs, deeper discounts to clear old inventory, and a greater share of lower-margin wholesale sales. Higher costs from running more stores pushed expenses up, crimping operating margin. As a result, EPS fell compared to the previous year. The company lowered its full-year forecast, expecting sales to shrink slightly, hurt by rising tariffs (including $40 million in additional tariff costs). Overall, it was a weak quarter, with falling margins, declining sales, and lowered guidance all pointing to a tougher road ahead. Oxford Industries is down 49.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $39.57 per share, it is trading 62.8% below its 52-week high of $106.50 from July 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Oxford Industries's shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $924.20. Today's young investors likely haven't read the timeless lessons in Gorilla Game: Picking Winners In High Technology because it was written more than 20 years ago when Microsoft and Apple were first establishing their supremacy. But if we apply the same principles, then enterprise software stocks leveraging their own generative AI capabilities may well be the Gorillas of the future. So, in that spirit, we are excited to present our Special Free Report on a profitable, fast-growing enterprise software stock that is already riding the automation wave and looking to catch the generative AI next. Sign in to access your portfolio
