Sam Fender becomes patron of North East homeless charity

Sam Fender has become the official patron of a North East homelessness charity.

The award-winning musician, from North Shields, has agreed to officially support North East Homeless after previously promoting them online and even mentioning them in his Brit Awards acceptance speech earlier this year.

Brian Burridge, who set up the North Shields based charity with his wife, is delighted by the news and says the singer-songwriter is sticking to his roots.

He says: “Even though he’s now an internationally recognised artist, Sam has always kept his strong connections with the area”.

He added: “It started during lockdown when he couldn’t tour so he used to pop in here all the time, sometimes just sitting and playing the piano.

“We’ve always been a bit of a safe space for him and he just always pops in when he can”.

Fender has already helped the charity with their campaigning, with Mr Burridge saying he's helped support an initiative to get councils to offer free helplines for vulnerable people in need of support rather than charge premium number prices.

“Him sharing this on his social media channels made all the difference to our success and it’s a massive boost to us to have him on our side”.

Fender’s two albums, Hypersonic Missiles and Seventeen Going Under, have both reached number one in the UK charts over the past few years.

The announcement comes ahead of two concerts he’s playing at the Arena in Newcastle next Tuesday and Wednesday as part of his UK tour.

Talking about his new role Sam Fender said: “It’s an honour to help a charity that’s so close to my heart.

“Homelessness is a massive problem. North East Homelessness help so many people turn their lives around. Families shouldn’t be struggling through no fault of their own”.

North East Homeless provides food, training and support to homeless people. It’s also open to the public, who can use the café, which raises funds for the charity.