People sleeping rough in Trafford are being offered a dedicated place to sleep during the cold winter months.
Great Places Housing Group, after working closely with Trafford Council, has agreed to turn unoccupied office space into a night shelter, as part of the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s A Bed Every Night provision.
Currently, councils are only required to provide cold weather provision when the temperatures drop to 0C or below. But the 10 councils of Greater Manchester have now agreed with the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, that there will be a bed every night for rough sleepers from 1st November up to 31st March.
Trafford Council has been providing beds for rough sleepers but now there is a dedicated provision for the A Bed Every Night scheme.
The night shelter in Trafford has 10 bed spaces available at Pomona Gardens in Old Trafford, which is a supported accommodation scheme run by Great Places.
The former office will be accessed by a separate entrance with secure buzzer entry. It has 10 camp beds, along with two bathrooms with wash basins and a small kitchen with kettle, toaster and microwave. There is also a lounge, while laundry facilities are available in the main scheme, which support workers will have access to.
Cllr Kevin Procter, Trafford Council Executive Member for Communities and Housing, said:
It is heartbreaking when anyone has to sleep rough, all the more so during freezing weather.
We are delighted to be able to commit to the A Bed Every Night scheme and would like to thank our partners – Great Places, Trafford Housing Trust (THT), Irwell Valley Housing Association and Moss Care St Vincent's; in enabling this to happen.
The night provision, which will open on Saturday, 1st December, is being provided free of charge, while Trafford Housing Trust has donated £5,000 for essential items to assist with the provision. Irwell Valley has agreed to provide an emergency room for A Bed Every Night when availability allows. Moss Care St Vincent’s has provided essential items that staff can give out to people who are accessing the night provision
Matthew Harrison, CEO, Great Places, said:
Great Places is proud to be able to host a night provision in Trafford this year as part of 'A Bed Every Night’, drawing upon our existing close partnerships with Trafford Council, Housing Options Service, THT, Irwell Valley Homes and Moss Care St Vincent's.
Tackling homelessness is high on our agenda as an organisation and being able to help people who don’t have accommodation during the winter is a real privilege.
Taking action and working in partnership with other organisations across Greater Manchester is the only way we will end rough sleeping and make a significant difference to the those who need their city’s support.
Larry Gold, deputy chief executive of Trafford Housing Trust said:
We are proud to be working closely with Andy Burnham and Great Places to support his pledge that every homeless person in this city is offered a bed for the night during the winter period.
On top of our previous commitment of £50,000 into the Social Impact Bond, which is designed to get entrenched rough sleepers into homes and give them support with addiction and other health issues, we are committing a further £5,000 to help fund the initiative this winter.
We know that many people in our city are really struggling to keep their homes or to get back into homes, and we want to ensure they are not left out on the streets throughout the winter, and especially over the Christmas period.
Mr Burnham said:
A Bed Every Night is not a sticking plaster but the first stage of a new systematic approach to ending the scourge that is homelessness and rough sleeping in Greater Manchester.
We are aiming to provide people with a supported journey away from the streets.
Posted on Friday 30th November 2018