Loughborough: Future of homeless hostel at risk after funding cut

Users of the service have said it has helped to save lives

A charity has said it could be forced to close a hostel that supports homeless people after the council made a decision to withdraw funding.

The Falcon Centre, in Loughborough, provides round-the-clock support for more than 100 people a year.

Councillors voted on Friday to withdraw a £150,000 contract for the service from March 2024.

Leicestershire County Council said support would be available through its First Contact Plus scheme instead.

Falcon Support Services, which runs the hostel, has launched a fundraising appeal in response to the decision, in an effort to cover its costs for the service moving forward.

'Huge blow'

The hostel, which supports up to 30 vulnerable men and women at a time, has helped hundreds of homeless people "back to work and into their own accommodation", charity bosses said.

A new community-based system would save money and improve flexibility, said the authority.

Lee Hardy, communications and fundraising manager for the charity, said: "This is a huge blow to the county and will affect the whole community.

"Our service users are very worried. Come March they may have to move out; it may mean people will have to return to the streets.

"The Falcon Centre is now at risk of closure and it's just essential that we put all efforts into our campaign to raise £200k to keep the face-to-face support in place."

Leicestershire County Council, which needs to save around £90 million by 2026, said a new community-based system would save money and improve flexibility and allow it to reach more people.

'False economy'

Mike Sandys, the authority's director of public health, said future support would be more tailored to the needs of individuals.

He added that local housing teams will be able to make direct referrals, which means they can be followed up more quickly.

Councillors voted to withdraw the funding at the authority's cabinet meeting on Friday.

Meanwhile, Homeless Link, the membership body for homelessness services in England, condemned the move and called the council's decision "dangerous and short-sighted".

Peter Smith, director of sector development, added: "The council's proposal that these people can use existing generic public health services instead goes against good practice for tackling homelessness.

"It will result in many people tragically falling through the cracks. And losing vital homelessness provision will also prove a false economy, placing additional strain on already stretched health and social care services."