Hackney Winter Night Shelter teams up with local graffiti artists to raise money

Trapped in Zone One founder Bablu Miah. Photograph: Planet Rock Graphics

A group of local artists are raising money for homelessness charity Hackney Winter Night Shelter (HWNS) this month through the sale of hip-hop and graffiti-inspired clothing.

Hackney-based designers Trapped in Zone One and Planet Rock Graphics have developed a range of limited edition T-shirts and sweatshirts as part of their #RoofTop campaign.

Fifty per cent of each sale goes directly to HWNS, which says the money will help with running costs such as heating and bedding.

The shelter on Powerscroft Road has been providing Hackney’s homeless population with food and a place to sleep during the cold winter months for 25 years.

Trapped in Zone One, which previously teamed up with Amnesty International to fundraise for the Against Hate campaign, chose to help HWNS due to “the rise of homelessness in our city”.

The company’s founder, Bablu Miah, said: “We all have a huge passion for graffiti art and we wanted to use the power of graffiti to help HWNS.”

The #RoofTop project features the work from a variety of international artists and has already raised over £400 through online sales.

Hackney Winter Night Shelter is ready for guests. Photograph: Paul Driver

Andrew Hudson, HWNS’s chair of trustees, said: “Planet Rock Graphics approached us with a view to supporting us. They are a Hackney-based business who want to support a local cause they believe in. We are very grateful to them.

“The money will support the general running of the shelter. We have to raise all our own funding, for staff to help guests find more suitable accommodation, heating and food at the shelter, and extras like bedding for a guest who’s moving on, or a pair of boots to enable someone to take up a building job.  

“So all the money raised will make a real difference to vulnerable people in Hackney this winter.”

The shelter recently put out a fresh call for volunteers after extending its opening period from three months to five months.

The #RoofTop clothing is on sale here

For more information on Hackney Winter Night Shelter, or if you’re interested in volunteering, please visit www.hwns.org.uk