Salvation Army church to host cabins to temporarily house the homeless in Peterborough

Well-known homeless support charity Light Project Peterborough has secured permission to place three portable cabins to temporarily house homeless people at the Salvation Army Church and Community Hall on Bourges Boulevard.

The charity has been successful in its bid for a grant from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) Night Shelter Transformation Fund for faith, community and voluntary sector organisations as well as the Safe Sleeping Spaces Funding from the local authority.

The grant has been offered to enable the continued and increased provision of quality, COVID-secure emergency off the street accommodation from 2023 to 2025, to help reduce the number of individuals sleeping rough or requiring emergency shelter.

Three cabins will be placed at the Salvation Army Citadel on Bourges Boulevard. Each has an external floor area of approximately nine square metres and comes with an ensuite shower cubicle, flushing toilet, wash basin, heated towel rail and extract fan. There is also a full size single bed, built in furniture with wardrobe, locker, desk, shelves. In

addition a microwave and fridge will be provided

In the winter of 2021/22 Light Project Peterborough opened the first four Peterborough Night Shelter emergency accommodation units across three faith community sites in city.

Since it’s inception the project has supported 27 individuals. Of those, 17 have now moved into more permanent accommodation, there are also four currently in the shelter.

The project has mobilised 2,154 volunteering hours up to June.

The application stated: "The Church in Peterborough continues to be passionate about helping people move off the streets, find stable accommodation and find their place with loving and caring communities.

"Peterborough Christians for Social Action is a group of Christian leaders around the city, led by LPP including a subgroup in place to support the city’s response to people sleeping rough.

“This group helped the move towards the current model of single safe sleeping spaces. The group has received interest from a number of other church communities to also adopt and host people from the streets in self-contained accommodation units.

"This model has shown the impact that the community can have when someone is supported at its heart, with a team of volunteers active in support, care and love.

“Night Shelters provide vital accommodation for people experiencing rough sleeping and are a critical tool in providing safe routes off the streets for our most vulnerable.”

Ongoing support for this initiative has continued from Cambridgeshire Constabulary, Aspire (part of Change Grow Live) drug and alcohol treatment service and Peterborough City Council to offer wrap around services.

"Where necessary the ‘guests’ are also supported by the new Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust Dual Diagnosis Street Team.

The cabins will be located at the site until in winter of 2025 but, if further funding is forthcoming, the charity hopes to extend the provision through until March 2026.