Facts for journalists

If you are a journalist looking for further information, press releases or photographs, or would like to set up an interview, please contact our press office.

Every year we survey our clients to produce an overview of their backgrounds, issues and needs. We do this to help us identify trends, such as rising or decreasing levels of substance use or mental health problems, and to compare how these change over time. More importantly, this helps us to plan and tailor our services directly to our client group.

Some results from our 2009 survey are shown below:

  • 76% of clients were male
  • 24% of clients were female
  • 31% of clients were from BME communities
  • 68% of clients had issues with substance use (drugs and/or alcohol)
  • 66% had a physical health condition (medical condition, vision impaired and/or required regular medication)
  • 69% of clients had mental health issues (diagnosed, suspected, depression and/or self harming)
  • 52% of clients had educational needs (learning disabilities, difficulty reading, difficulty with numeracy, managing money and paying bills)
  • 56% had slept rough
  • 11% had been in care
  • 48% of clients were ex-offenders or had been in prison

National statistics

London statistics