Who we are
St Giles was founded in 1962 in south London, providing emergency relief for people experiencing destitution. Today, we work across England and Wales. The people we support are affected by multiple, complex issues which need time, compassion and expertise to address.
We support social mobility by meeting basic needs and opening up opportunities everyone has a basic right to: safety, a home, and fair employment.
Lived experience is in our DNA. Our approach trains and employs people with lived experience to deliver credible services alongside amplifying their voices to influence wider change. We pioneered this approach and continue to advocate for its adoption and mainstreaming across the wider sector.
We work local to national, listening and learning from the people and communities in which we work, alongside advocating for them and what works. We grow our evidence base and aim to replicate proven solutions in other settings.
We work national to local, working with partners, funders and policymakers to mainstream best practices, embed lived experience and make things better for communities.
We work for today and tomorrow, improving lives in the here and now alongside making life better in the future by influencing the systems that affect people’s lives.
Our services uplift people, boosting their skills and confidence to forge a path forward and take ownership of their lives. In a time of inequality where many people feel unheard, we passionately believe their voice is critically important and offers solutions.
We view our work through the prism of our three core pillars of work: poverty, violence & exploitation and the justice system. However, we also understand these areas are deeply connected and intersecting. Every individual’s situation is different; therefore, our services work flexibly and collaboratively, seeing people not problems, and using lived experience to build trust, credibility and engagement.
Our vision, mission and values
We want to see a society where everybody – no matter what their background – has a positive future.
Patrons
We are extremely grateful to those who kindly support St Giles through being our Patrons.
Our staff
We are a diverse team with a wide range of experiences and backgrounds.
40% of our staff have first hand experience of the issues currently facing the people they support. Some are former clients who have trained through our Peer Advisor Programme and use their past experiences to inspire and enable others.
We have teams with locally recruited staff established across the UK - in London, Eastern England, Wales, Yorkshire, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Annual Review and Accounts 24/25
Each year, we produce an Annual Review which reports on our impact and key developments at St Giles, alongside first-hand accounts from our staff and their clients.
Our partners and accreditations
