Survival on the streets
Various services are available via our Day Centre for people in Chelmsford sleeping rough, in similar vulnerable situations or temporarily housed with us. These services include:
- tea, coffee and light snacks;
- the use of toilets and shower, with toiletries and towels provided where necessary;
- the use of washing machine and spin drier;
- secure individual lockers;
- the use of computers for access to the Internet and webmail and the typing of letters and CVs;
- an accommodation address for mail; and
- at the discretion of the Manager, the use of a telephone.
A small charge may be made for some of these.
In addition, the Day Centre has comfortable armchairs, a TV, a pool table, a table-top football set, a keyboard and a number of guitars. The use of these is free.
From time to time we arrange other activities at the Centre. Users of the Day Centre can also ask for help in writing CVs and applying for benefits. There are nearly always staff and volunteers willing to lend a listening ear and our Lay Chaplains attend regularly.
If we have them, we are normally prepared to provide food and drink from the Night Shelter for an hour each evening to those living rough on Chelmsford's streets.
Emergency accommodation
Our Night Shelter provides emergency accommodation for up to eight homeless people at a time, in six single and one twin-bedded bedroom. Whilst we accept referrals from other agencies, the Night Shelter is a "direct access" hostel, meaning that any homeless person can apply for admission. Unfortunately, because of the demand for places, we are not able to admit everyone who applies but we do take details in case a suitable vacancy should arise.
Residents may use the Shelter from 7 pm to 9 am each weekday and 5 pm to 10 am at weekends and on bank holidays. Cooked breakfasts and evening meals are provided for those who want them and the kettle is nearly always on the boil. Toilet, shower and laundry facilities are available and we have a residents' lounge with TV, books, videos and board games.
The Support Workers based at the Night Shelter can help residents with the preparation of CVs, benefit and job applications and with the search for more permanent accommodation. Members of our chaplaincy team visit the Shelter most Tuesday nights. A local doctors' practice has kindly agreed to accept Shelter residents as patients should they wish to register.
As with all our residential buildings, we charge a rent for the accommodation we provide. For those on social security benefits, most or all of this will be met from the Housing Benefit. There is a small additional daily charge as a contribution to other expenses.
Move-on and long-term accommodation
The Annexe
Not far from the Shelter is the Annexe, which has five single rooms and shared kitchen, washing and laundry facilities. Here the residents can come and go as they please and are responsible for their own food and for keeping the place clean and tidy. However, the Shelter is only three minutes' walk away should they need our support.
We do not admit residents directly to the Annexe. When a room becomes available it will be allocated to a suitable person who is already resident in the Night Shelter.
The move-on houses
We have two "move-on houses" in other parts of Chelmsford as a further step towards independent living. They each have four single bedrooms with a shared kitchen, laundry, toilet, bathroom and garden. Residents normally move into these after a spell in the Annexe.
These houses are intended for those who are progressing towards independent accommodation of their own. We normally expect to house residents for a maximum of five months from the date of first entry to the Night Shelter.
The long-stay house
However, we do have one "long-stay house", which also has four single bedrooms with shared facilities. This is intended for those who may find it difficult to sustain long-term residence elsewhere.
Other support
Our main aim is to help homeless people to move on to permanent accommodation of their own. To this end we work with every resident to prepare an individual Support Plan. This may entail the resident seeking treatment for alcohol or drug-related problems, undergoing additional training, preparing a budget or finding a job. Where necessary we can refer homeless people to other agencies for help or advice.
Our Life Skills and Development Manager and our Assistant Support Manager work closely with residents throughout their stay with us and may continue to provide some support thereafter. Counselling for residents and others is available via the Day Centre.
Where appropriate, homeless people have the opportunity to help us either by acting as volunteers at the Day Centre or by working on one of our projects, such as the allotment or the bike project. Residents moving on to their own accommodation are invited to complete a feedback form so that we can learn from their experiences.
Spreading the word
We are always happy to talk to churches and other organisations in the Chelmsford area about homelessness. If you would like a speaker to come to one of your services or meetings, please contact the Night Shelter. Contact details are here.