4 March 2010
City and St Mungo’s to open B&B-style accommodation for
older rough sleepers
St Mungo’s and The City of London Corporation are opening The
Lodge at St Ursula’s this month - B&B-style accommodation
specifically aimed at helping long term, older rough sleepers.
Guests at 40-bed The Lodge will have more independence over
their lives than in a traditional hostel, but also the support of
Lodge staff and outreach workers who will actively help them with
move on options, depending on people’s various needs. It is
believed to be the first joint charity and local authority managed
project of its kind in the UK.
The City and St Mungo’s expect The Lodge’s guests to be
long-term rough sleepers, aged between 40 and 65, some of whom may
have been on the streets for decades. It is hoped that guests will
move from The Lodge into more permanent accommodation. The first
guests are set to move in on Monday 15 March on referral from
outreach services.
They will have a regular bed for the night with staff on hand if
they do need any further help. They will also have the chance to
meet staff from outreach teams and access other services who will
make regular visits to the hotel each week. Outreach workers will
actively assist guests with move-on options, depending on people’s
various needs.
The Lodge has been refurbished to a high standard by leading
architect Gus Alexander. It has a welcoming communal TV lounge, a
dining area, a laundry and a kitchen for guests to use. The Lodge
has received funding from the Homes and Communities Agency’s £80m
Places of Change programme, The City of London Corporation and the
New Hope Foundation.
This exciting project draws some of its inspiration from the
privately-run Lindsay Hotel, based within The City of London.
Charles Fraser, Chief Executive of St Mungo’s, said: “We know
that older rough sleepers are some of the most resistant to the
usual routes away from the streets - often very independent,
self-sufficient people used to their own patterns of daily life.
There is a tendency for them to be unwilling to use the current
services on offer. Our challenge then is to provide a better
alternative to sleeping on the streets that appeals to them
directly.
“The answer, we hope, is the Lodge. As a hotel rather than a
hostel it will offer guests a fresh approach, with the back up of
assistance to find their own permanent accommodation. The Lodge is
an exciting example of what can be achieved when funders, council
partners and services providers share a desire to try a new,
imaginative approach to tackling rough sleeping. We’re very pleased
to be working with the City of London in this new joint
venture.”
Billy Dove, Chairman of the Community and Children’s Services
Committee at the City of London said: “The City of London works
hard to engage with rough sleepers, support them to access
specialist services and ultimately to get them off the streets and
to begin rebuilding their lives and The Lodge at St Ursula’s is a
further demonstration of this commitment. I am confident those
using The Lodge will thrive in a more independent environment, with
the support of staff where necessary. We are grateful to the Homes
and Communities Agency and others who are backing The Lodge as a
place with the potential to transform hundreds of lives."
Councillor James King, Executive Member for Community Safety,
Camden Council, said: “This accommodation will give homeless older
people the opportunity to become independent and support
themselves, increasing their chances of staying off the streets.
Many homeless people have issues such as alcohol dependency and
other health issues, and The Lodge will allow them to receive help
they need whilst gradually enabling them to support themselves. I
hope this project means many long term homeless older people will
be able to get off the streets for good. The hostel management
team, Camden Council’s outreach services and the police will work
closely with the local community to ensure that the project does
not have a negative impact on the local area.”
David Lunts, HCA London Regional Director, said: “This unique
scheme will help those rough sleepers who slip through the net for
conventional homelessness support. It is another example of the HCA
looking to identify a range of approaches to combat rough sleeping
through the Places of Change programme, which is helping
individuals make the transition from the street to a settled
home.”
Ends
Contact
The City of London Corporation, which provides
local government services for the Square Mile, the financial and
commercial heart of Britain, works nationally and internationally
to maintain and enhance the City as a world-leading international
financial and business centre.
St Mungo's has been helping rough sleepers and
homeless people in the capital for 40 years. In the last year our
outreach teams helped almost 450 people off the streets, we
provided accommodation for more than 1,400 homeless people every
night and we supported over 1,000 clients with their mental health
and substance use needs. St Mungo’s runs over 100 housing, health
and work projects in London and the South (Bristol, Oxford,
Reading). www.mungos.org
About the Homes and Communities Agency The
Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the single, national housing
and regeneration agency for England. Its role is to create
opportunities for people to live in high quality, sustainable
places. The HCA provides funding for affordable homes, brings land
back into productive use and improves the quality of life by
raising standards for the physical and social environment. For more
information, please contact Ben Ashmore on 020 7633 3486 /
ben.ashmore@hca.gsx.gov.uk