Mission:HOME, and the fight of 15-year-old Scarlet to end homelessness
Mission:HOME needs our help!
Mission:HOME is a Brighton-based community initiative which aims at providing social housing for the 2,900 parents and children currently living in temporary accommodation in the city. Founded by Scarlett Chapman, Mission:HOME is calling for the council to turn its unused plots of land into permanent social housing.
15-year-old Scarlett has been fundraising since she was eight. She felt confused and saddened by the amount of people in Brighton that don’t have access to permanent housing. She remembers listening to a mother who had to hoover the mould off her daughter’s bedroom wall, and Scarlett knew she had to act. Since then, Scarlett has raised more than £10,000 for local charities that support the homeless. Mission:HOME is her latest project, and it needs as much support as we can give it.
Plans have been submitted to build three and four-bedroom homes on a microsite in Woodingdean. This development would create four permanent council homes for local families that would completely change their lives. If enough support is shown on the council’s planning portal then the development will receive a strong backing. “If the Woodingdean site is approved, it will show the council and the people what’s possible” Scarlett says, in the hope of supporting even more families in the future. She believes that “the council would build more homes on small sites like this if they knew the public supported it.”
The most effective way to get involved is to send a message of support via a short form, open until February 3rd 2026: https://missionhome.org.uk/watch/.
People can also help by signing up to the Mission:HOME newsletter, volunteering their time, sharing the campaign on social media, or making donations.
On a final note, Scarlett urges us to speak up, so as to “show that our city cares and wants to do the right thing.” We support the campaign, and we hope you will too.
Written by Isabel Meszaros