Harrogate church opens doors to homeless people

A church in Harrogate is preparing to open its doors to homeless people, with its lower hall soon becoming a day service for the foreseeable future.

The Wesley Centre will be the site for the Harrogate Homeless Project’s (HHP) Springboard service, which is currently in the adjoining Wesley Chapel House in a much smaller room.

It provides food, shower facilities, a laundry service and support for homeless people and is open from 10am to 2pm every week day

With social distancing making it more difficult to use the current small space, HHP will take over the lower hall of the Wesley Centre.

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To accommodate the move and keep the upper floor available for church services, the Wesley Centre will install new toilets and refurbish the kitchen.

The National Lottery’s Coronavirus Community Support will give the church £37,500 for those works.

Pippa French, the manager at the Wesley Centre, said:

“Coronavirus meant the closure of our building and many of our usual groups haven’t yet returned.

“Meanwhile, the Harrogate Homeless Project next door were unable to maintain their services at a safe distance because they didn’t have the space.

“Wesley Chapel was responsible for the founding of the Project nearly 30 years ago, so it’s fantastic that it can step in once again when there is a need.

Wesley Centre events will continue in the Chapel space upstairs, which will be available for hire in early 2021.

Liz Hancock, CEO, Harrogate Homeless Project said:

“Our day centre premises at Springboard had become difficult to run.

“The numbers attending were growing and the space was not sufficient to provide the care and activities we wanted to.

“Now coronavirus restrictions have made things even more problematic.

“The lower hall at Wesley Centre will be ideal for us and matches and surpasses everything we were looking for.”

HHP is now busy planning its move into the lower hall at the Wesley Centre and hopes that the project can move in early next year.

Visible return of rough sleeping in Harrogate as lockdown eases

With more tents and sleeping bags on the streets, there has been a visible return of homeless people and rough sleepers around Harrogate.

Back at the start of the lockdown, the government rolled out the ‘Everyone’s in’ scheme to put people in hostels, hotels, and B&Bs.

Harrogate Borough Council housed its homeless community in hostels in the town as well as hostels and hotels in Leeds as part of that scheme.

Both the council and the Harrogate Homeless Project (HHP) worked with them to give them medication, food, laundry facilities, showers, and around 25 mobile phones.

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Neither the charity nor the local authority believes that there has been an actual rise in homeless numbers, just that some people in temporary accommodation are venturing out more.

Liz Hancock, the chief executive of HHP, told The Stray Ferret:

“We have been working hard to maintain our services during coronavirus while also keep our staff and clients safe. We do have worries about the mental health of those shielding when they are stuck inside for so long, we have distributed puzzles, books, and colouring activities to help.”

She added that she is worried about the homeless people it looks after venturing outside more and potentially bringing coronavirus back into its hostels.

But Liz Hancock also insisted that when the ‘Everyone’s in’ scheme comes to an end, homeless people will not just be turned out onto the streets. What happens next is up to the council.

What is the council’s homeless plan?

With the £3.2 billion ‘Everyone’s in’ scheme comes to an end soon, the council will work with those in temporary accommodation to find a more permanent place.

Part of the council’s plan is to get more people into Avondale Hostel, which it has just bought. It plans to renovate the building and make sure that it is only families living there.

This is the plan for the Spa Lane hostel.

Another key part is the council’s new hostel on Spa Lane. The construction works have been delayed and the expected completion date of October has been moved back to early next year.

Cllr Mike Chambers, the cabinet member for safer communities, told The Stray Ferret:

“It was a major challenge bringing in rough sleepers, we do not have that many but we do have some. We managed to make sure that all those who wanted to come inside could do. We will give everyone in temporary accommodation an opportunity to get more permanent accommodation.”