Waking up in safety a game changer for rough sleepers
A Salisbury charity is calling for sustained support to help turn lives around
A Salisbury-based charity is calling for sustained support to ensure more people have somewhere safe to wake up, saying that not doing so has a major impact on wellbeing.
Alabaré's "Room with a View" scheme allows supporters of the homelessness charity to move away from sleeping in a tent, their car, or sofa-surfing with friends or family.
The most recent Government homelessness snapshot found almost 5,000 people rough sleeping on a given night, while over 200,000 are experiencing hidden homelessness, which is where they're sleeping in unsuitable places like cars or tents.
The campaign is a response to the deepening homelessness crisis, which has seen greater demand for Alabaré's services. And with supported living spaces limited, it calls on the local community to pull together and help those in need, by providing a ore positive outlook for those at risk of homelessness.
Tracy, who found help from Alabaré in Chippenham after becoming homelessness says it allowed her to leave her worries behind.
"Sleeping rough means literally wearing all your clothes, including your boots, because if you don’t, you’ll wake up and find even those are gone. Eventually, I went to the woods to hide away. It’s scary up there anyway, but it was less scary than being around other people, to be honest. I’d return to find my tent gone and everything with it. It was a nightmare.
“Eventually, I started speaking to the rough sleeper team, and I engaged with the right people, I suppose. And then, thank the Lord, I ended up here in ALABARÉ’s emergency accommodation.”
The campaign will help provide emergency accommodation and drop-in facilities in Salisbury and Chippenham for rough sleepers, as well as basics such as toiletries, bedding and furniture to help them setting into new spaces in locations including Devizes, Trowbridge and the wider south and west region.
It can also back activities improving people's CV's, boosting physical and mental health and provide opportunities to learn new skills.
The link between homelessness and poor mental health is clear, with the charity warning that we are only a few things going wrong away from being in the same position of vulnerability.
The lack of shelter can pose a risk to a person's health, with rough sleepers at risk of dehydration in the summer and hypothermia in the winter.
Nic Dunford, Principal Lead for Individual Giving, Legacies, and Retail at ALABARÉ, said: “By supporting a Room With A View, you’ll be directly helping to break the cycle of homelessness. Having a space to call their own can be the difference between a person just about surviving and really thriving.
“We’re seeing an ever-increasing demand for ALABARÉ’s services, along with a rising level of complex needs, so the public’s support is as vital as ever to ensure we’re here to help.”
She added that the campaign, as well as supporting people in need, is about raising awareness among people needing help, that they can reach out and find a place to begin putting life back together again.
The Room with a View scheme is a monthly donation of £21 which we can support here.
Alabaré has to raise £1.7 million each year to provide care to more than 3,200 people across its various services.