Manchester's homeless offered Christmas help
Council convert buildings into night shelters.
Two empty buildings in Manchester are being opened up as homeless shelters.
Manchester City Council has now been given planning permission enabling them to open the former Hulme Library building and the former Beech Mount Children’s Home in Harpurhey for use by rough sleepers from Friday December 11.
It's come not long after Ryan Giggs opened up his Stock Exchange to homeless squatters until the spring -
The Former Hulme Library has been opened up today by the city council - and the former Beech Mount Children's home in Harpurhey will be opened on Monday .
The city council has spent the last weeks refurbishing the buildings in preparation for opening them up as night shelters for the winter months and have received offers of free help from organisations across Manchester.
Rough sleepers need to be referred to the new centres, which will be open from 9pm-9am, by homeless organisations in Manchester.
Riverside Care and Support, which has a long history of working with the city council to help homeless people in Manchester, will manage both shelters and provide staff who will be on the sites overnight.
These staff will help occupants to access daytime services, including healthcare, mental health services and drug and alcohol specialists, while the city council’s rough sleepers team will make sure there is support available to help people move on into more stable accommodation.
Property firm Bruntwood, in conjunction with its cleaning partner Time Out Services, has provided free cleaning at both buildings to prepare them for being opened and will continue to regularly clean them throughout the winter. Time Out will also be offering help into employment, such as training and apprenticeships, to occupants within the buildings.