SERVING THE NEEDS OF THE HOMELESS

Barnabus is a Christian charity started over 25 years ago working in Manchester, serving the needs of homeless and vulnerable people. It has a busy support office where users of the service can get practical help, and a drop-in centre, the Beacon, which is open Monday to Friday.
 
Each day the Beacon provides breakfast, hot meals, showers, clothing and activity sessions of various kinds. A nurse from a local GP surgery comes in for two mornings a week where people can be registered with a doctor or have minor problems dealt with.
 
An outreach ministry also operates on the streets in the evenings, signposting homeless people to Barnabus or other similar organisations.
 
The Barnabus office is staffed by support workers who can help with accommodation, benefits problems or the myriad of other problems that people may have. A person who is homeless can have very complex needs and problems and it is only through perseverance and ongoing support that many can be helped. Barnabus provides this help and support. The charity relies on donations for its funding and on its volunteers to be able to run the Beacon. If you would like to help in any way or would like more information, please contact me or the Barnabus office via their website or phone number.
 
A few statistics:
Of the people who visit Barnabus, 65% were sleeping rough in Manchester.
On average 50 – 70 people visit each morning session for tea, breakfast cereals and toast.
Each week up to 90 people can be served a cooked breakfast.
There were 2350 visits to the Beacon drop-in centre in a single month.
There have been over 12,000 man-hours provided by volunteers so far this year.
 
Jeff McBurney                      
jeff.mcburney@hotmail.com
 
Barnabus
W: www.barnabus-manchester.org.uk     
T: 0161 237 3223