The Oxford Student Social Action Coalition (OSSAC), a merger between several student homelessness organisations, has been launched. The new organisation will co-ordinate the activities of Turl Street Homeless Action (TSHA), New College Curry Runners, and Food Rescuers.
The aim of this partnership is to help students work together to support Oxford’s homeless community. They hope to increase visibility of Oxford’s student volunteers’ work and to flag relevant resources and services to volunteers, supporters, and those experiencing homelessness. They will also coordinate projects between the different organisations, direct resources and funding to where they can be utilised most effectively, and support the professional services helping to tackle homelessness in Oxford.
OSSAC has three main aims: to bring food and drink to homeless people in central Oxford; to provide company and listen to those facing a difficult situation; and to bridge the divide between the homeless community and students. The partnership will allow volunteers to work smoothly across OSSAC projects, both during term time and vacation periods.
Anya Gray, OSSAC’s communications and engagement officer, told Cherwell that the coalition came about after “the TSHA committee organised the first Oxfordshire Homeless Conference in October, which brought together student and non-student groups supporting the homeless community”. Euan Warner, the chair of OSSAC, told Cherwell that “it became clear that we were stronger together, and could better prioritise the needs of the end user”. Since then, committees from each organisation have been working together on the merger.
Warner also told Cherwell that “FoodRescuers and NCCR focus on redistributing leftover food […], while TSHA focuses on homeless outreach, providing hot drinks, hygiene products, and signposting support where necessary”. FoodRescuers’ Project Leader, Darren Lee, told Cherwell: “We all worked in slightly different ways, so we’re hoping that coming together under OSSAC will help us collaborate, share ideas and streamline processes together.”
Any student can get involved with OSSAC, with no formal application or training process required. FoodRescuers work at lunchtime, and TSHA and NCCR work on alternate evenings. Lee particularly encourages sports groups to collaborate with OSSAC. He adds that “in the past, there has been a successful initiative from OURFC committing to covering a shift for TSHA each week’’ and that they want to see more initiatives like this.
OSSAC works closely with its partner organisations, The Porch, The Gatehouse, and Oxfordshire Homeless Movement – all professional charities external to the University of Oxford. The Porch provides a range of services for homeless people in Oxford, such as vocational skills training, laundry and shower facilities, and a library. The Gatehouse works in a similar way, and is a community drop in centre for homeless and vulnerably-housed adults, offering a wide range of free services and activities.
Warner told Cherwell: “Their insight and support has been an invaluable addition to our work, helping us to improve our service provision, and ensure long term sustainability”, adding that OSSAC is “always looking to increase collaboration, and better integrate with the professional services that play such an important role in the city”.
Warner told Cherwell that Oxford University needs to be doing more to financially support Oxford’s vital day services for homeless individuals, which he says are a “vital, and invaluable network of support for Oxford’s most vulnerable”, adding that “the University needs to put its money where its mouth is”. The University has been approached for comment.
Nonetheless, the coalition is working closely with University staff and administration to expand their reach, and looking for where Oxford’s student community can be best mobilised to enact positive change for the homeless community.
Homelessness in Oxford is widespread and has been progressively getting worse. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities found that there was a 70% increase in the number of people sleeping rough in Oxford on a single night from 2023 to 2024. This was significantly higher than the 27% increase across the whole of England.
Homelessness is a particularly severe issue in Oxford, in part, due to ‘studentification’, a form of gentrification where students dominate housing stock and local rent markets, and because a significant proportion of Oxford’s available housing has been purchased by colleges to be used as accommodation. This has compounded the existing cost of living and housing crisis.
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