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February – March 2026 : Progress READ ONLINE

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Resolutions and rays of hope

December 01 2025
Emdad on outreach in east London. © Emdad Rahman Emdad on outreach in east London. © Emdad Rahman

The turn of the year is a time of resolutions. Many people experiencing homelessness enter the new year with resolve and hope. By Emdad Rahman 

Every year as the clock ticks towards midnight on New Year’s Eve, most of us start scribbling resolutions. We swear we’ll run more, eat less, sleep better and phone that distant cousin in Luton. But for many homeless friends, the rough sleepers, the families tucked away in hostels, or the people quietly sofa surfing, resolutions take on a very different meaning.

For so many, it’s not about joining a gym or learning Italian. It’s about survival. It’s about making it through the coldest months with dignity intact and hope still flickering. When you’re living day-to-day, a resolution can be as simple as: “I’ll keep warm tonight,” or “I’ll get that housing appointment tomorrow.” These are goals forged not from luxury, but from grit.

Back in October, I met a wonderful group of parents, teachers and pupils who had made their own resolution: to support those in need through their school’s annual harvest collection. Their enthusiasm was contagious and when I saw the sheer scale of their generosity, I struggled under a mountain of tins, pasta and tea bags. Their kindness helped me top up supplies for a local foodbank dedicated to helping homeless people and also fuel my own winter street outreach for rough sleepers. That’s the kind of resolution that keeps people alive, fed and connected.

Resolutions matter because they offer focus and light at the end of the tunnel. For people on the streets, that light can be faint, but it’s there. For homelessness organisations and outreach volunteers, resolutions are the compass that keeps the mission true: be consistent, be kind, be present. It’s about turning hope into habit, one act at a time.

Typical resolutions come and go like buses in the rain. We’ve all broken one before February and usually while eating cake and pretending it’s fruit.

But for those struggling, keeping resolutions is hard when every day is unpredictable. You can’t plan to “get fit” when you’ve slept on a bench. You can’t “save money” when you don’t have a pound to your name.

Winter, with all its frost and festivity, is a great time to reflect. There’s something about shorter days and longer nights that makes us think more deeply. It’s the season of truth and the time to acknowledge what’s gone wrong and what we can still make right. The run up to Christmas magnifies everything. While families hang fairy lights, many of our homeless friends are just trying to stay visible… and alive.

This year, volunteering near Canary Wharf, I’ve seen how tensions have risen. The protests outside the Britannia Hotel over the summer became hijacked by those who used the moment to spread hate and division. Racism, verbal abuse and hostility towards both homeless people and volunteers have all increased. What’s tragic is how these actions damage real community efforts and frighten away those who genuinely want to help.

One thing I’ve learned is that compassion is not seasonal. It’s not something we switch on in December and pack away in January with the tinsel. The best resolution we can all make, regardless of status, postcode, or profession is to stay kind. Because kindness is what fuels the world’s volunteers. We’re not superheroes. We’re ordinary people who just refuse to walk past suffering without stopping.

Volunteers make the UK tick. They’re the heartbeat of our cities, the bridge between hopelessness and hope. Whether it’s handing out soup, running foodbanks, sharing books from a bicycle, or simply listening without judgment: every small act matters.

So as the year ends, take a quiet moment. Reflect. Reset. Resolve. Whether you’re in a warm home, a hostel, or beneath the city skyline, the power of resolution lies not in what we promise but in what we actually do.


A short poem by Emdad on this issue’s theme of Resolutions:

Resolutions of the Street

Cold nights, brave hearts, a promise to keep
Hope walks beside those who barely sleep.
Through wind and frost, compassion will bloom
For even in darkness, kindness makes room.

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February – March 2026 : Progress

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