Homeless shelter to close for 10 weeks

BRISTOL’S biggest walk-in night shelter is closing its doors at the end of the month for essential refurbishment.

The Julian Trust, which provides 18 beds for single homeless people above 18, will be closed from Monday, July 30, for about 10 weeks until mid October

This will allow renovation teams to work on the night shelter’s kitchen and guest shower areas.

The shelter in Little Bishop Street, St Paul’s, is one of the most used night shelters in the city. On most nights, it is used by nearly 100 people, who are served dinner between 9.30pm and 10.30pm.

It is the biggest one in the city for self-referrals, which means people can walk in and beds are given on a first-come, first-served basis.

The trust said: “The long-awaited big decision has been made that we are going ahead with our kitchen and guest shower refurbishment so we can run a safe shelter operation for another 30 years.

“The work we need to do is necessary for a great many reasons but the timing is not ideal.

“We have the long term interests of our guests, and volunteers, at heart but the loss of 18 beds, five nights a week is never an easy choice. We are considering options for partial opening once work is underway but cannot guarantee. In mitigation, we are always closed for at least two weeks in August and the new St Anne’s 24-hour shelter is planned to open later this year.”

The Julian Trust was founded by Meg Grimes in 1986 and is open five nights every week. They are closed on Thursdays and Sundays.

About 100 guests go to the shelter for dinner between 9.30pm and 10.30pm, before the beds are allocated.

A supervisor takes a bed list at around 7.45pm every night, and the first 18 guests in the queue are invited to take a bed around dinner time.

Overnight guests are served breakfast around 6.30am and the shelter closes at 7.30am.

On some nights, a laundry service is provided, and new clothes and other essentials can also be picked up.

Paramedics from the ambulance service, outreach workers and health support workers are also regularly at the shelter.

Beds at the shelter are free for people to use, but cost the charity about £16 per bed per night to provide.

Over Christmas, the night shelter is taken over by Caring at Christmas, which opens the shelter for 24 hours a day for about 10 days. More than 50 people can stay in the shelter at that time.