Church offers sanctuary to people living on streets
A CHURCH will double up as a council homeless shelter over the winter, part of the Greater Manchester drive to provide a bed for every rough sleeper.
The beds made available at St George’s in Wigan are in addition to the two new homeless hubs that are at the forefront of the town hall’s fresh homeless strategy.
The Brick - the renowned local charity chosen by the council to operate the two hubs - will also run the makeshift shelter based at the Water Street church.
It means there will be a minimum of 45 beds provided every night once the Wigan hub is open next month.
Louise Green, operations director at The Brick, said staff were ‘full of gratitude’ to the church’s congregation for making the site available.
The 15 beds at the church are part of Andy Burnham’s A Bed Every Night initiative for this winter.
The mayor has pledged to end rough sleeping across Greater Manchester by 2020.
Wigan council has separately launched its own fresh homelessness strategy with the two hubs at the forefront. The Leigh site is already open with the Wigan equivalent set to be operational by the end of the year.
The town hall said the facilities at the church will be in addition to the hubs rather than a stop-gap until the Wigan site - understood to be in converted office space in the Coops building - is ready.
Mr Burnham visited the hub in Leigh - his former parliamentary constituency - last week.
Coun Terry Halliwell, cabinet member for welfare and reform, said: “Tackling homelessness is more than just offering a bed for the night. It’s about supporting people from the moment they walk through the door, understanding their circumstances and helping them to rebuild their lives.
“By supporting them in this way we can prevent them reaching crisis point in the future. This work is even more important as we go into winter.
“We have made significant investments to help support homeless services and will continue to work with providers to deliver a cohesive approach so services can work together to better understand people’s needs.”
Ms Green added: “We are full of gratitude to the congregation and leadership of St George’s church for making the church available as a night shelter over the winter months and doing so at short notice.”