An ‘over the moon’ Sam Fender has spoken of his delight after councils in the N0rth East of England agreed to waive a surcharge on helplines for vulnerable people in need of emergency assistance. After a nine-month campaign backed by the singer-songwriter and charity North East Homeless, six local authorities – Newcastle, North Tyneside, Gateshead, Durham, South Tyneside and Northumberland council – have all replaced their chargeable helplines with free-to-call numbers.
Northumberland council were the last to agree to the changes following a petition spearheaded by Fender, which gathered some 16,500 signatures. The multi-instrumentalist has spoken of his desire to expand the campaign for free helplines for the homeless and vulnerable to every part of the country.
Right! @N_landCouncil and @DurhamCouncil
Let’s get this done for Christmas aye?
S.Tyneside and @gateshead
have made their phone lines free for the homeless and vulnerable, let’s set an example for the rest of the U.K.!https://t.co/RZhCd11flB— Sam Fender (@samfendermusic) December 11, 2020
Having surpassed the 10,000 signature threshold on the UK Parliament website, his petition has already triggered a response from the Department for Communities and Local Government, which states “Local authorities have a duty to provide advice and information about homelessness and the prevention of homelessness free of charge. Local authorities are responsible for how the advice is delivered.” If Fender’s petition goes on to secure 100,000 signatures, it will automatically be considered for a full parliamentary debate.
Reacting to the campaign victory in the North East, Fender told Chronicle Live “We’re absolutely over the moon to hear that Northumberland council has joined the other councils in making their helplines free. This is going to make such a massive difference for so many people. Thank you to everybody who has got behind the petition and made this happen. Also, have to say massive hats off to Brian (Burridge) from North East Homeless who highlighted the issue.”
The North Shields-born rocker added “This result has restored my faith in the community, it’s been amazing to see so many people rallying with us online. It’s also hard to believe there’s still councils up and down the country charging for helplines, we’ve discovered it’s a national problem which is frightening.”
Fender, who hit the big time last year with his chart-topping debut album Hypersonic Missiles, has supported a series of charitable causes this year. In April he joined forces with a host of other artists – including Rita Ora, Hailee Steinfield, Zara Larsson and Paloma Faith – to form the Radio One Live Lounge Allstars. The socially-distanced supergroup covered the Foo Fighters anthem Times Like These in aid of Children In Need, Comic Relief and the World Health Organisation’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
More recently, the singer released a moving cover of Winter Song, a 1970 track by fellow Tynesiders Lindisfarne in support of The Big Issue and People of the Streets. He told Radio X about his motivations for recording a different kind of festive track, saying “I wanted to do a Christmas song, but I didn’t want to do something that was crass and crap. Winter Song is one of my favourite Christmas tunes and (Lindisfarne founding member) Alan Hull is one of my heroes so I just wanted to do something that was close to home and close to my heart and that’s why I picked it.”
He added “If you listen to the song and the original track the lyrics are actually really poignant and relevant for the time. It’s basically a Christmas message of trying be more empathetic about people who are worse off than you.”
In an exclusive edition of The Big Issue – which is available to purchase online here – Fender also spoke about how the scourge of homelessness has affected some of those closest to him. He says “My stepdad was actually homeless himself at one point. He was armed forces and he ended up on the street for quite a while. One of my friends who passed away, she spent a lot of her years homeless and in and out of shelters. It permeated my life when I saw my friend go through the things she went through. We’ve a lot of friends up here who’ve become homeless over the years. It just shows that it’s so close to home. People don’t realise how close it is.“
