The Sock Mob

About us

Sock Mob Events has evolved from the work of The Sock Mob, an informal volunteer network that engages with London's street people through regular weekly walks, using the icebreaking power of socks and conversation.

The Sock Mob has highlighted the enormous potential in connecting people from different walks of life as a way of overcoming the stigmas associated with marginalized groups - such as the homeless - which often prevent them from participating meaningfully in the social and cultural life of the city.

We at Sock Mob Events believe that this potential can best be developed further by empowering homeless and vulnerably housed individuals to take positive action for their own lives and supporting them in the process of regaining their confidence. In response to this, we coach homeless people we work with to be tour guides, taking you along an entertaining as well as meaningful walk. We do this by teasing out their creativity and resourcefulness, and helping to nurture their confidence.
In other words...

We have no room for the doom and gloom version of homelessness but instead seek to harness the energy and knowledge of people living on the streets and those vulnerably housed. In the process, we hope to offer something that's of worth and excitement to every Londoner and visitor alike, and to all who want to connect with people from different walks of life.
And in terms of how we relate to one another:

Sock Mob events is a social enterprise. What this means in practice for us is that we have co-constructed every aspect of the tours and processes with the guides themselves, making the Unseen Tour experience a truly joint venture from the ground up. This driving vision also means that the lion's share of the money we receive from you in payment for our tours goes to the guides, while any profit we make is directly reinvested back into the enterprise to engage more guides and widen the scope of our tours.