News Stop the Stigma Social Impact Project 23.05.2025

This week Lower Sixth students, Leah and Sofia, went to Hampton School to present an assembly championing their social impact project, ‘Stop the Stigma’. Here they talk about the project to develop educational resources and lead inter-school assemblies that challenge the widespread misconceptions and prejudice faced by the homeless community:

“This year, as part of our work with the Social Impact Committee, we launched ‘Stop the Stigma’. ‘Stop the Stigma’ is an initiative focused on challenging the widespread misconceptions and prejudice faced by the homeless community. Advised by St Mungo’s, a leading homelessness charity, we’ve distributed tailored educational resources, led inter-school assemblies and surveyed over fifty young people. As a result of our work, we were named international finalists in the Future Problem Solving Competition.

‘Thanks to the invaluable support of Ms Virdee and Dr Row, in the latest stage of the project, we delivered an informative assembly at Hampton Boys’ School focusing on the realities of homelessness and the damaging effects of stigma. Our presentation highlighted often overlooked and impactful statistics such as the alarming rates of violence experienced by people facing homelessness to the widespread belief that homelessness is a choice. We also addressed the presence of the Vagrancy Act, which criminalises rough sleeping and fuels stigma against the homeless community.

‘Despite minor technical difficulties, the presentation was extremely well received, with several people approaching us afterwards to express how impactful they found it. In the next stage of the project, we will start a letter writing campaign to petition for the repealment of the Vagrancy Act.’