Church provides homeless accommodation over winter

Leicester City Council says it has spent about £24m on providing homelessness services in the past year

A church in Leicester has been equipped to offer emergency accommodation for homeless people during the winter months.

The winter night shelter, operated by homeless charity One Roof, will offer 20 beds every night from Monday to 31 March, along with an additional 19 beds during periods of "severe weather", Leicester City Council said.

It is funded by government cash given to the city council, Rutland County Council and local district councils.

The city council said these emergency beds were in addition to those already offered by the authority and local homeless charities.

One Roof did not want to reveal the location of the church for operational reasons but said councils and partner agencies will be able to refer people to the shelter.

Users will be offered additional support, with staff aiming to help find them other temporary or permanent accommodation, the charity said.

'Lifeline for rough sleepers'

The city council also operates the Dawn Centre hostel, which offers 46 rooms for temporary accommodation every day of the year, and 19 emergency beds.

A one-off payment of £880,000 was given to the city council by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in October.

Councillor Elly Cutkelvin, deputy city mayor for housing, said: "Around £61,000 of this is going towards the running of the shelter, which will provide a lifeline for rough sleepers who, for various reasons, aren't accessing existing emergency accommodation in the city or county."

The city council said along with funding the emergency accommodation, the money would go towards providing two additional homeless outreach workers, improvements at the Dawn Centre, providing wifi to families with children living in temporary accommodation, and funding more work with Help the Homeless.

Salma Ravat, CEO of One Roof Leicester, said: "At the winter night shelter we will be offering a place to stay overnight to people who would otherwise be rough sleeping in the city and county.

"Our group of dedicated volunteers will provide a warm welcome and safety to our guests every night."