Transport for London (TfL) and Arriva Rail London will raise money for national homelessness charity Crisis this Thursday (10 October), which is World Homeless Day.

The two companies will donate the cost of hot drinks bought by customers at five stations along what London Overground will name the Mildmay line later this year (up to one thousand pounds per station).

Crisis volunteers will also collect money at Mildmay line stations.

The five stations are Camden Road, Gospel Oak, Hackney Central, Highbury & Islington, and Shepherd’s Bush.

TfL will also host various charities across its network in an effort to raise awareness of homelessness and show people how they can support homeless people.

During October, Arriva Rail London (ARL) will help deliver fifty thousand meals to those in need across London.

At seventeen London Overground stations, staff will host food collection points, and will work with City Harvest to divert food that local businesses would otherwise throw away to people facing food poverty across the capital.

The seventeen stations are Acton Central, Barking Riverside, Camden Road, Carpenders Park, Dalston Kingsland, Enfield Town, Hackney Downs, Hackney Wick, Highams Park, Honor Oak Park, Kensington Olympia, Kilburn High Road, Norwood Junction, Shoreditch High Street, South Tottenham, Sydenham and West Croydon. There will also be a collection point at ARL’s head office in Southwark.

The company is inviting local businesses and members of the public to donate non-perishable food items at its collection points.

City Harvest will distribute donations to more than 375 London charities and community organisations, which will provide food for around 123,000 meals per week, and what it describes as “vital support to families, shelters and food banks”.

TfL hopes that these initiatives will also improve passengers’ knowledge of the reason for the name of the Mildmay line, which runs between Richmond and Clapham Junction to Stratford.

It has been named in tribute to Mildmay Hospital, which for nearly four decades has provided specialised medical care for people with HIV, and which has more recently extended its services to people experiencing homelessness who need clinical care.

The Mayor of London has promised to end rough sleeping in London by 2030, and has committed ten million pounds to an expanded network of homeless hubs designed to help an extra 1,700 rough sleepers each year.

“Homelessness affects too many people in the capital and we are committed to doing all we can to support them. Mildmay was chosen as one of the new names for the six London Overground lines in part because of their pioneering work to support people experiencing homelessness.

“We hope that our activities along what will become the London Overground Mildmay line later this year on World Homeless Day will not only help to raise thousands of pounds to support the vital work Crisis does to support people experiencing homelessness across London and the UK but will encourage our customers to think about how they can also support homeless charities.”

Trish Ashton, Director of Rail Services at TfL