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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Joseph Locker & Bradley Jolly

Huge new homeless shelter has been full each night since opening four months ago

A new homeless shelter has been full every single night since it opened some four months ago.

Emmanuel House has welcomed thousands of visitors, around half of which are said to be migrants.

It opened in Nottingham city centre on April 8 as a new pilot project, which came off the back of funding from the Government's Rapid Rehousing Pathway.

Daily Mirror pushed for the scheme during its Mirror on the Street campaign earlier this year, which saw reporters and photographers talk to rough sleepers and the people helping them in Nottingham and 19 other towns and cities around the country.

And Nottingham Post says Emmanuel House gets people "who really have no options".

Churches or leisure centres are lined with beds for those otherwise sleeping rough (Emmanuel House WS)

Graham Bowpitt, a trustee and volunteer at the night shelter, said: "It's fully booked up and people are staying longer.

"About half of those who use the shelter are migrants, Polish migrants and EU migrants and they all have much fewer options than everyone else.

"We often find we get people who really have no options. The local people also have significant support needs and we are often having to support them with drug and alcohol addictions."

Volunteers at the shelters prepare food for those using the service (Emmanuel House WS)

But Emmanuel House has to move locations every four weeks, which can take up to 12 hours to complete.

A moving van transports the beds, sleeping bags and other supplies between venues such as churches and leisure centres.

The volunteers and support workers at the night shelter have helped 21 people into long-term accommodation in just 16 weeks.

Mr Bowpitt, 66, added: "A lot of the time people are here because of diminishing support services and it is even more complex to access the support.

"We have a navigator and support workers and everyone who comes here gets a support plan.

Vans transport the belongings to a new location every four weeks (Emmanuel House WS)
Here's how you can help the homeless

"The support workers talk to them about their needs and provide a risk assessment. They can have a bed at the shelter and the only condition is that they engage with their support plan.

"At the moment we open at 10pm and people can have a snack like soup and coffee. But we cannot take all newcomers so we have a reserve list, and we refer them back to Framework's street outreach so they can find somewhere else.

"It's not easy and it's not straightforward and mental health issues are becoming more prevalent."

The charity's chief executive, Denis Tully, said the number of beds being taken up has "increased" in the short time it has been open.

A homeless man begs for small change on a street in a city (Getty Images)
A police officer asks after the safety of a homeless woman (Andy Stenning / Daily Mirror)

He said: "When the Nottingham Night Shelter was proposed as a year-long service we were uncertain as to whether the take-up would be the same as in the winter because of warmer weather

"Contrary to our concerns, take up of beds has increased. Where space and safety allow we have increased the number of beds in some venues and we have seen a more consistent take-up of beds.

"This means there is an increase in the number of beds occupied that have been booked, indicating the increasing number of people who are homeless and the increasing pressures on homelessness services."

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