Good luck and all that, but I can't see this sceme having a very good success rate. The homeless are addicts to one form of drug or another and £40 per week is simply not enough per day, never mind per week.

Like the hotel on Fishergate that the police closed down....will this happen here if there is drug activity?If so it will be a lot of money wasted or will the authorities turn a blind eye?

More than 10 years, 2 million quid and still counting for a 10 bed hostel in Ribbleton Lane sounds a bit OTT to me - both in time and money. Ten years ago, and even now, a full street of terraces in that area would cost not much more than that ! Not exactly Chelsea or Kensington, is it - so where has all that cash gone ? And why come cap in hand to LCC for still more ? Hopefully the powers that be will axe that request and stop even more taxpayers cash from going down the drain (or into the vein ? ) I think Fox Street shelter could make more use of a few bob than this French charity with such a hifalutin name.

2m for 10 beds , well done . I could have 7, 4 bed detached houses in fulwood for that

Classic case of a public funded project , Its actually being done by the guy who owns recycle.co.uk and is creaming in thousands off the governemnt in grants for this , as they say its who ya know .....

You could build a 70 room hotel for that money. 10 Bedrooms with en-suite. What they got perl baths, heated toilet seats and recliner beds?

steve jackson is not behind this project-he has one in st pauls area. by the city councils own admission fox st saves them £100,000s each year doing work the council would otherise be required to do. people who run projects like this get it from all sides. 1 criticism however is that emmaus in their early days were too fussy about their choice of site.

Hi All,


I am one of the staff members at Emmaus Preston. Sadly the article doesn't go in to more detail of what Emmaus is. We are no shelter, but a working community. The residents/companions who join us agree to sign off benefits and work 40 hours/week in our community.

On Saturday 4th October our second hand shop on London Road (near Home Base) will open. This shop will be run by our residents and revenues will be used to become self-sustaining ASAP.

As for the high amount of funding Emmaus Preston has received so far, this has entirely been invested in the project. Not only does Emmaus Preston own The Birches now, but we also have two more houses which will be used as move-on project for the companions.
The Birches has completely been refurbished on the ground floor and the basic reconditioning of the first floor also has been terminated already (new windows, walls, etc - Stage 2 will convert the first floor in to regular accomodation up to 2008 standard)

PrestonChris, you are wrong. The recycling.co.uk project has been based on the Emmaus model, but there is no affiliation with us (other than a local partnership).

LingeringOAP, Fox Street just officially reopened this week as a community after a major refurbishment. At Fox Street the residents are free to do whatever they want during day. At Emmaus companions commit themselves to work 40 hours/week . We will have social furniture schemes and many more local projects in place with time.

Emmaus sadly can not be explained properly in 200 words. We hope soon to add something to Preston.

For all the nay sayers and 'homeless are addicts' shouters, Emmaus does not allow the usage of illegal substances and people who use on our premises will be told to leave and will also be banned from every Emmaus community in the UK.

I just say very good luck to everyone involved.

Just over 16 years ago, I was made homeless. I was alone and scared, and didn't know what to do, or where to go to for any help or advice. I approached my local council at that time, and was rather rudely told to "go and sleep rough on the streets of Preston and become Preston Borough Council's concern". Preston BC were much more caring, though all they could offer me was an appointment at a young offenders institute, and to go on the council housing list. Fox Street shelter at the time only took in males, so I couldn't go there. I ended up being homeless for 2 years.

If there had been someone or somewhere that I knew of, where I could go to for help and advice, then maybe I wouldn't have had to endure those awful 2 years.

I didn't take drugs or become a so-called "bum", and was lucky enough to eventually get a council flat (in a not-so-nice place), which then enabled me to gain employment, and in time, I was able to buy my own house and finally start to move on with my life.

So for the people who run places like the Emmaus and Fox Street shelters, I wish them all the best. We could do with more people like them.

I here ya Franky,thanks for not deleting the previous comments.......good response....but why 2 million?