New homeless shelter to open in Preston city centre to reduce rough sleeping
A new night shelter for Preston’s homeless will open next month - with the aim of getting the people who need it off the streets for good.
The city centre facility - in a vacant shop on Market Street - was granted planning permission last year.
Since then, Preston City Council - which will operate the building - has spent six months consulting with rough sleepers and the frontline staff who help them to find out what they most want the service to offer.
Meanwhile, the authority has also confirmed it will continue to support the Foxton Day Centre, which had appeared to be at risk when it emerged in December that the town hall was considering cutting a grant of around £500,000 to the charity that runs it.
The council’s new night shelter will provide cubicles for up to 14 people, with places allocated based on referrals from its outreach team.
The service will also work with rough sleepers to help them find permanent accommodation, while offering them safety and support to help break any cycles that resulted in them becoming homeless in the first place.
Coun Nweeda Khan, cabinet member for communities and social justice at Preston City Council, said the authority “firmly believes that any individual sleeping on the streets in our city is unacceptable”
She added: “We stand committed to getting people off the streets and into secure and safe accommodation. National challenges around homelessness and housing have risen dramatically in recent years and we work hard with our community partners to stem the tide of increasing numbers of homelessness in Preston. “We thank all our partners who took time to take part in the research that was carried out.
“Currently there is limited emergency accommodation in the city and the council have made opening a new night shelter Service a priority project, supported as part of a wider package, by the limited funding it has available, to tackle the problem. The night service will also provide longer term help and solutions through gender-specific pathways, to more permanent housing and work with clients to break the cycle of an ‘on the street’ lifestyle.”
John Parkinson, chair of trustees at the Foxton Centre, welcomed the night shelter and the council’s commitment to the charity’s day centre on Fox Street, which provides breakfasts, showers and laundry services.
“[The shelter] adds to the range of facilities provided in Preston to support rough sleepers and address the growing problem of homelessness,” Mr Parkinson said.
“The agreement between Preston City Council and The Foxton to continue to invest in the Foxton Day Centre and create a steering group to coordinate and build on the range of partnerships is a positive step forward. This will enable the further development of joined up services including medical, mental health, addiction and legal support which are currently in place at the day centre.
“Multi-agency coordination between statutory and voluntary sector providers is the most effective way to use the resources needed to support rough sleepers.”
The city council said last year all of the night shelter’s users would undergo a risk assessment before being admitted and that the facility would be staffed at all times by two paid members of staff and four volunteers, with an on-call manager also available if needed.
Business info events
The city council is holding a drop-in session at the town hall later this month for local businesses that may have questions about the new night shelter. Follow-up workshops are being offered for those interested in being more closely involved or discussing ways of working with the authority and the organisation Making Every Adult Matter, which assisted with the consultation into what the service should offer.
The initial ‘awareness session’ will take place on 27th February, between 4pm and 8pm, with the workshops being held at the same time on 4th, 5th and 13th March.