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There were shocking figures produced this week by the housing charity Centrepoint, suggesting that councils in England are struggling to cope with the numbers of young people who are homeless. The charity says around 120,000 young people faced homelessness in 2022-23, many of them in the capital, and local authorities are £300 million short of cash to help them, even though they’re legally required to do so. The figures come at a time when homelessness has become a highly contested issue. Politicians are arguing about a new bill amid claims that it is so broadly drawn that people would be considered a nuisance for sleeping in a doorway, being deemed to have an excessive smell or looking as though they intend to sleep rough. The arguments also surround why people are sleeping rough in the first place. But what if the reasons why people manage to leave the streets behind are looked at as well, as a way forward for helping homeless people? I was very moved by stories recounted in national newspapers by two notable people in the last few days. Mark Constantine, the founder of Lush Soaps and Martha, Lady Sitwell, a former model, recalled how they had nowhere to live when they were young. Mark Constantine described a fractious relationship with his family, dropping out of school and ending up living with just a sleeping bag for shelter in woodland. Things got better when friends and his future in-laws let him stay with them and he secured a job as a hairdresser. Martha Sitwell’s story is even more harrowing. Family traumas ended an idyllic childhood and she ended up living on the streets in London. It was dangerous and frightening. She was spat on and assaulted. Some people ignored her, stepping over her as if she did not exist. Like Mark Constantine, Martha Sitwell’s life was changed by people who did the exact opposite – acknowledged her existence. One was a famous actor who always chatted to her. Another was the fashion designer Vivienne Westwood who gave her a chance as a model. When Christ talked to his followers about those who will be rewarded in heaven after a life well lived, there was no mention of devout prayer or of worship. Instead he focused on those who helped others in need as if they were helping Christ himself: “when I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” That was what he made central to his teaching on how to live. As Mark and Martha’s stories show, just one moment of kindness, of recognising rather than ignoring someone’s humanity, can transform their world.