Harrogate Borough Council has been allocated £405,000 to tackle homelessness in the district.
The funding is from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s homelessness prevention grant stream.
Grants totalling £310 million have been awarded to local authorities nationally.
The funding can be used to provide temporary accommodation for rough sleepers, to offer financial support for people to find a new home or to prevent evictions.
Kelly Tolhurst, minster for housing and rough sleeping, said the funding would “help councils provide better support to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place as we look to end rough sleeping once and for all”.
Harrogate homeless shelters
The council has erected temporary emergency homeless units on Tower Street in Harrogate for rough sleepers to use when temperatures drop this winter.
However, despite the recent cold snap they have still yet to be used.
The four units are set to be in place for three months.
A spokesperson for Harrogate Borough Council confirmed today the accommodation has yet to be used.
Harrogate homeless shelters ‘appropriate and comfortable’
Harrogate Borough Council has defended its temporary homeless shelters after some people raised concerns about their use.
The four yellow container units will be in Tower Street car park in Harrogate for the next three months.
Every local authority is expected to adopt a severe weather emergency protocol, which describes measures to provide emergency accommodation for rough sleepers during severe weather.
Cllr Mike Chambers, the cabinet member for housing and safer communities, told the Stray Ferret:
“I have not been inside but they are comfortable and appropriate for someone who needs some shelter for a couple of nights.
“Each of the shelters has windows, heaters and toilets. We have several hostels and we are an exemplar council for looking after homeless people.”
New government guidance this year warned of the dangers of coronavirus in night shelters. It also asked local authorities to consider “self-contained accommodation options”.
According to council figures, 29 rough sleepers in the district were taken off the streets during the “Everyone’s In” measures in the first lockdown, of which 10 are still being supported by the authority.
When the Stray Ferret reported that the council had installed these shelters it prompted a diverse range of views from our readers.
Some said they were “excellent” and a “good stop gap”; others argued they “looked horrendous” and suggested using other solutions, such as hotels.
Harrogate Borough Council said at the start of December the containers will be in place for three months.
Harrogate restaurant offers free meals for homeless peopleAn independent Harrogate restaurant is stepping up to the plate once again and offering free meals for homeless people on Christmas Day.
Portofino Ristorante will open from 2pm to 4pm to serve a full turkey dinner for anyone without a roof over their head.
As well as the food, those in need will also come away with a Christmas gift in the form of gloves, hats, scarves or sleeping bags.
Ozgur Babat, owner of the Italian restaurant Portofino, told the Stray Ferret:
“Many businesses are struggling right now but we are lucky enough to be in a position to help others.
“The response has been incredible, so many people have shared it online so hopefully we can reach those people in need.”
With the help of charitable people locally the restaurant is already at full capacity for winter clothes and sleeping bags.
The restaurant will serve turkey with pigs in blankets, stuffing, seasonal vegetables, roast potatoes and gravy from its new Christmas menu.
The restaurant has been inundated with donations.
Coronavirus guidelines means that everyone will have to sit on a seperate table, so there will be room for around 25 people.
Since sharing the news on the Portofino Ristorante page, people have shared the post more than 1,000 times.
Harrogate church opens doors to homeless peopleA 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.
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.
Harrogate council creates temporary homeless sheltersHarrogate Borough Council has placed temporary homeless units in a car park to give people a place to stay as the temperatures drop.
The four container units will be in Tower Street Car Park in Harrogate for the next three months. While the shelters are in place the car park will remain closed off.
Each of the units is connected to power and comes with a portable toilet unit outside.
Councils need to provide accommodation under the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP).
SWEP is normally triggered when the forecast hits zero degrees. Other extreme weathers like high winds, heavy rain and heatwaves can also trigger the protocol.
New government guidance this year warns of the dangers of coronavirus in night shelters. It also asks local authorities to consider “self-contained accommodation options”.
A council spokesman told the Stray Ferret:
“Emergency accommodation, which we are legally obliged to provide, has been installed in Tower Street Car Park in Harrogate.
“This accommodation is for when the weather conditions worsen and a homeless person may need a roof over their head. The units will be in place for three months.”
Local authorities were encouraged to house rough sleepers temporarily under the “Everyone In” initiative during the first lockdown.
The borough council housed people in hostels in the town, as well as in Leeds.
According to council figures, 29 rough sleepers in the district were taken off the streets, of which 10 are still being supported by the authority.
The Wesley Chapel in Harrogate is fundraising to buy hampers for people who are alone this Christmas after covid prevented its usual lunch from taking place.
For the past 35 years the Methodist chapel has provided Christmas day lunches for up to 100 people.
All guests are offered a full Christmas dinner, entertainment, carol singing, and a snack before being transported home.
It has given mainly elderly, lonely and homeless people not only a hot meal but also company.
Now it has set up a crowdfunding campaign to buy a minimum of 120 hampers.
Esther Hitchen, a volunteer helper for the Wesley Chapel, said:
“Sadly, this year we are unable to provide a Christmas Day lunch due to the covid restrictions.
“Instead, we are organising hampers, which will be delivered to the door of our guests on the 25th of December.
“We hope it will brighten up their day and help them feel less alone this Christmas.”
Any funds that don’t get used will go towards next year’s Christmas dinner.
You can support the appeal here.
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.
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.
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.”