North East homelessness charity sees queues outside before opening
Cornerstone helps people in County Durham and Hartlepool
Last updated 1st May 2025
We are hearing how homeless people in the North East and Teesside are queuing outside a charity so they can get basic needs like a shower.
Cornerstone, which offers supported housing and counselling in County Durham and Hartlepool, say they have been very busy this winter.
Nicky Morson is from there and said: "So far we've distributed 96 sleep pods across the North East to other charities and organisations for people to come and collect them knowing that we've got the stock up here thanks to sleep pods. We're in swept at the moment just to ensure that anybody, who presents as homeless to ourselves or comes in the homeless hub or we find on our street sweeps, are housed.
"The main thing we've noticed is that how much our homeless hub is being used daily. A lot of the things that we do within the hub is unfunded when it comes to food donations and when it comes to daily support. As we're opening the shutters in the morning, people are waiting there for simple things as a shower and that's our mission just to get them off the street as quick as possible.
"I think everybody feels the pressure but we're a very, very tight team. The demand is there but the staff are prepared for the demand to rise. We have taken on a new staff member leading into the winter which is to strengthen our outreach because obviously our outreach offers doubles as the weather gets colder.
"Our start of communication is with a sleep pod. We're so grateful for them so they're a first point of contact and a sort of emergency shelter until we can find a way of getting them off the street. We've got emergency accommodation throughout County Durham and Hartlepool which is also used through the council via swept as well.
"We've also got spot purchase rooms now which is new to us this year where anybody, no matter if you're struggling or whether it's a referral from the council or what your situation is, you can put yourself in that room, so god forbid if we found one of ourselves where we had some money, but again just because you've got money doesn't mean you don't end up homeless, you can put yourself into one of these rooms immediately."