'Without this they would be sleeping on streets'

The hub in Norwich provides temporary accommodation for homeless people

A 14-bed emergency accommodation project for those sleeping rough is proving vital in the freezing temperatures.

The Somewhere Safe to Stay Hub in Norwich is run by charity St Martins Housing.

It takes people on for 72 hours, or sometimes longer, until they can find somewhere more permanent to stay.

What do those staying and working there think of the shelter?

'It's a bed, a roof, it's heat'

Richard is staying in the emergency accommodation and is hoping to move somewhere permanent

Just two days before he went into the emergency accommodation, Richard was attacked on the streets where he was sleeping.

He says during winter life on the streets is "grim".

"You sleep for an hour, maybe two hours, and you wake up and you're frozen and there's the worry of being attacked, your day's very long," he says.

He says the hub is better than night shelters he has been in before as "you can stay here all day, it's a bed, a roof, it's heat".

Richard, who has suffered with addiction, says he "would like to integrate myself back into society and contribute something".

"The only way is up from here," he says.

'They treat you like family'

Former hub user Kieran says it helped him off the streets

Kieran used the hub and is now staying in a hostel.

Speaking of the shelter, he says: "You're made welcome here. It's a nice warm place, really nice.

"This time of year, it's cold, we don't know where we are going to end up. This is more permanent, I like this."

He says of life of on the streets, "people look at you like you're alien, they don't like stopping and chatting".

"It's hard, sometimes people just need someone to say 'hello' to," he says.

Kieran says he has made new friends at the hub.

"Everyone seems to be really nice to me here, they treat you like family."

'We're really needed at the moment'

Team leader at the hub, Kim Bristow, says it is rewarding to help people live independently

Kim Bristow, from St Martins Housing, says those that use the hub "suffer with mental health, substance misuse, a lot of them have no family, they've got a history of offences, they've been through the criminal justice system".

She says the shelter makes "a big difference".

"Without the hub they would be literally sleeping on streets," she says.

The team leader at the charity says: "We get them engaged with services so they can address their substance misuse.

"We get them engaged with the mental health teams. It's preparing them to move on so they can live independently.

"We're really needed at the moment. For them to be in the warm, have a bed to sleep in, it's a big benefit."