Eastbourne residents set up Winter Night Shelter to combat rising figures of homelessness on the Sou
- Polly Johns
- Feb 10, 2017
- 1 min read
Recent figures from Shelter show that one in 69 people are homeless in Brighton. Further up the coast in Eastbourne, residents are giving up their time, to provide a warm and safe environment for those on the street this winter.
The Winter Night Shelter moves each evening between seven Eastbourne churches, from 1 December to 28 February and provides beds, warm food and company for the evening. Residents have to make an application and attend an informal interview to be allowed to stay in the shelter overnight. Some residents visit the Winter Night Shelter every evening, others only on occasion, for some company and a hot dinner.
The aim of the shelter is firstly to get homeless people and rough sleepers off the streets during the cold winter nights, and also to attempt to keep them off the streets permanently and move them on to some form of accommodation during the rest of the year.
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Caroline Ansell, MP for Eastbourne and Willingdon, involves herself in the project as often as possible. Occasionally, she works as a volunteer for the Winter Night Shelter and also supports the work the community do in order to keep the shelter up and running. Caroline believes the Government play an important role in solving the issue of homelessness.
Caroline Ansell, shares her thoughts:
