Trafford Council centre for the homeless proving to be a big success

Trafford Council’s new A Bed Every Night (ABEN) provision is proving to be a huge success just weeks after opening.

The Council recently opened the six-bedroom property for the homeless on Chester Road in Old Trafford as part of the Phase 3 ABEN scheme in Trafford.

The team who run the scheme are celebrating after five of the six homeless people to move in first were given permanent accommodation in the public and private housing sector.

Cllr James Wright, Trafford Council’s Executive Member for Housing and Regeneration, said:

“This is fantastic news and I am over the moon that these individuals have now been moved into permanent accommodation. The Council has made it a major priority to prevent homelessness in Trafford and I am delighted that the new ABEN property on Chester Road is helping us to achieve that aim.

I believe that new residents have moved into the centre now, so let’s hope we can also find them accommodation, too. My heart goes out to those who find themselves homeless in our borough – it is an awful situation and one which should not be happening in 2020. But the Council is proud of its work in preventing homelessness and will continue to do everything in its power to stop people ending up on the streets.”

Trafford’s first ABEN facility was opened last year at Pomona Gardens in Old Trafford in partnership with the Great Places Housing Group. Unfortunately due to guidelines linked to Covid-19, a restriction on using dormitory style sleeping accommodations was imposed and the facility had to close in March this year.

The closure meant that the Council was tasked with finding a suitable facility for the homeless and resulted in the opening of the Chester Road site which is so far proving to be a huge success.

The Chester Road property, opened in October 2020, in partnership with Reliance who are a not for profit Registered Provider and Housing Options Service Trafford (HOST), allows clients to access their own room 24 hours a day, and is an ideal base for people to access any necessary support services to move forward into their own accommodation. There is also a security guard on site.

For housing information, please call the HOST team on 0161 912 2230 or email host@salixhomes.co.uk. For further information about A Bed Every Night, including information on how to donate or give your time, visit www.bedeverynight.co.uk or follow #BedEveryNight on Twitter.

Posted on Wednesday 25th November 2020