NOT everyone will wake up in a warm bed with a home-cooked dinner to enjoy on Christmas Day this year.

So in a bid to help the growing amount of homeless people on the city's streets amid service cuts, two homeless charities are appealing to residents for help.

Oxford Homeless Pathways and Aspire Oxford are hoping to raise £20,000 to not only give people a hot Christmas dinner but also offer them longer term skills, training and employment so they never have to be homeless again.

Jo Faulkner-Harvey, fundraising manager at Oxford Homeless Pathways, said: "A gift of just £15 could transform this time of year for homeless people across Oxfordshire, not just for this year but for future years too.

"Whether you make a donation, organise a church collection or do a cake sale with friends, every penny will support our vital work with homeless people across Oxfordshire."

Homelessness organisations are facing unprecedented cuts as the county council is due to reduce the housing related support budget by 65 per cent over three years.

In February health leaders said they feared cuts to homeless services and shelters could see the number of rough sleepers across Oxfordshire rise into the hundreds.

And a report presented to the county’s health improvement partnership board showed the number of homeless households in temporary accommodation, based on information from September, was 218 – with 128 of them in Oxford.

Homelessness is not a county council responsibility, but the authority directs cash towards tackling it through ‘housing related support’ services.

At its budget meeting the council agreed to reduce its support by 65 per cent – about £1.5m.

Emma, a former client of Oxford Homeless Pathways who does not want to give her surname, was just 14 when she found herself homeless after a family breakdown due to domestic abuse.

In her early 20s she started to display traits of manic depression that had been misdiagnosed as Post Natal Depression.

Despite holding down a job and supporting her family for 20 years, Emma became increasingly exposed to domestic abuse from her partner.

In August 2014 she realised she had to find help and a way out for her and her children and began sofa-surfing at a friend's house before her partner followed her and she was forced to sleep in her car.

She said: "It was like being on a constant treadmill not being able to get off, but I realised I had to make a choice either leave and recover or stay and sink further.

"It was not easy to believe it is possible to live a life without chemical peace of mind, especially as it was the solution I had been using to cope with the emotional pain."

She was referred to Oxford Homeless Pathways and was given a place in sober living accommodation in May 2015.

She added: "As an intelligent, educated and articulate woman I felt that I should have been able to deal with my situation.

"I was so grateful to have the one to one support of my key worker at Oxford Homeless Pathways – it gave me consistency and helped build trust in my relationships with people.

"I continue to attend weekly meetings at Drug Addicts Anonymous and found a sponsor who helps support me in my recovery- I haven’t needed to use since."

For more information visit: bit.ly/2e2nCnI