Crisis wants public services to be more accessible to the homeless

Up to 3,500 volunteers will be on hand across six centres across London providing food and basic medical care.

The shelters, including the Dockland's London Arena, will remain open for eight days as part of the charity's 34th Open Christmas campaign.

Crisis is calling on the government to make access to public services easier for homeless people.

'Vulnerable people'

The charity wants the creation of a "service navigator", a single point of contact to help lead the homeless through the "maze of services".

Crisis chief executive Shaks Ghosh said public services were inflexible, slow, bureaucratic and difficult to navigate.

She added that basic tasks such as getting an appointment with a doctor, accessing training or finding housing advice can seem "impossible" to the homeless.

She said: "They are some of the most vulnerable people dealing with a range of problems."

At the centres, visitors will get to see a doctor, talk to a counsellor, get housing advice and learn about training and work schemes.