October 2010 - show your support for homeless and vulnerable people

October is set to be a busy month, full of 'red letter days' when clients, staff and supporters will be campaigning, raising awareness and fundraising in support of homeless people.

Friday 22 October will be our first ever Woolly Hat Day. Click here for more details about Woolly Hat Day and for the fundraising pack.

Sunday 10 October marks the first ever international World Homeless Day with various organisations marking the day in different ways across the world.

Sunday 10 October also marks the fifth year of World Mental Health Day - a World Health Organisation day to raise public awareness about mental health issues. Poor mental health is both a cause and a consequence of homelessness. We provide innovative projects such as Lifeworks to help our residents improve their mental wellbeing and support those with severe and enduring mental health problems in our housing projects in London and the south.

And finally, it's the Royal Parks Half Marathon day! Best wishes to all our runners.

October 1-31 will be the first ever London Supported Housing Month, a month organised by the UK's National Housing Federation. As NHF members, accommodating more than 1,500 people each night, we are always looking to showcase how valuable our work is in local communities and supporting our 18 hostels and many supported housing projects across London to showcase their work, hold events and invite in neighbours.

St Mungo's staff don't just work in London though. We also have housing projects outside of London, in Oxford, and soon in Bath and West Oxfordshire. So we'll also be trying to involve residents and staff in the NHF's South Supported Housing Month activities from 15 November to 10 December.

And more? Our staff and clients are always looking to link in to relevant local and national occasions. Last year, for instance, a number of projects also worked with residents to mark October as Black History Month

We're hoping as many clients, staff and supporters as possible will get involved with one or more of these events and make October a very special month!