Emergency accommodation for homeless people during the winter has opened in Hereford.
Herefordshire Council has been working with a range of partners throughout 2023 to find and make ready a premises for use as winter emergency accommodation.
Open from today (11 December 2023), the accommodation will operate between 8pm and 8am to deliver emergency accommodation to males and females who are unfortunately in a position where they are sleeping on the street.
The emergency accommodation is a mix of dormitory style accommodation for men and self-contained pods for women.
We will also have additional pods that will be available as overflow for the shelter and will form part of our wider offer of support to people who would otherwise be sleeping rough after the shelter has closed.
The council's Rough Sleeper Outreach Team will continue to work with people accessing the shelter, alongside a wide range of partner organisations and charities, to support individuals to work through causes and symptoms of their homelessness and to access suitable and sustainable accommodation for their futures.
The project is being funded by Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities through the Rough Sleeping Initiative funding framework, and is kindly supported by business and public donations and the work of a range of charitable groups.
Prior to the opening of this emergency accommodation, Herefordshire Council has been offering emergency accommodation to rough sleepers during extreme cold weather as part of our Severe Weather Emergency Protocol.
Councillor Carole Gandy, Cabinet member adults, health and wellbeing, said:
I'm delighted that once again Herefordshire Council along with the voluntary sector has been able to provide warm, secure winter accommodation for some of our most vulnerable residents. This could not have been achieved without the hard work of our staff and a number of volunteers and donations from within the community. I was able to visit this appropriately adapted and well equipped facility and was really impressed with the standard of the accommodation. I am hopeful that most of those who would benefit from this facility will take up the offer and be comfortable and secure this winter.
Herefordshire Council would like to express our sincere gratitude to everyone joining us in this initiative: Herefordshire Community Foundation; Marches Ground Maintenance; The Elgar and City rotary clubs; The Living Room; Turning Point; Hereford Foodbank; Salvation Army; J Mart; Dulux.
The following organisations are donating food and goods to the shelter: The Taste of Italy; The Green Dragon Hotel; CLC (Christian Life Church); Castle House Hotel; SPSJ (St Peter St James); La De Kitchen Turkish; Cotto Italian; Central Roofing; The Country Food Trust; Beefy Boys.
Vikki Thomas from The Living Hope is coordinating nightly food and warm space from 6-8pm at the Union Street Café which is specifically for rough sleepers using the shelter over winter. This will also open on 11 December and be open 6-8pm every day until further notice.
Hereford City Church is also allowing use of their Union Café space for the nightly food offer that The Living Hope are running, and during the day when it operates 11am-2pm as a homeless hub.