New accommodation for Chelmsford homeless this Christmas
New accommodation for people who are homeless is now available in Chelmsford. Chelmsford City Council has worked with local charity CHESS Homeless so that they can increase their total of bedspaces from 32 to 66 (62 of these bedspaces are in Chelmsford).
““The City Council is committed to preventing homelessness, supporting those who are homeless and working to end rough sleeping. We provide homeless households with housing and also support to permanently change their lives for the better.
Cllr Stephen Robinson, Leader of Chelmsford City Council
“No-one needs to be sleeping rough in Chelmsford.”
CHESS Homeless is part of the Homelessness Forum, established by Chelmsford City Council. The charity runs a Change Programme that helps homeless single adults to regain control of their lives.
They offer temporary accommodation for people who are homeless or facing the risk of being homeless in Chelmsford, all located near the city centre. CHESS now offers 24/7 accommodation at its emergency hostel which has a shared lounge, gym access, bike rentals, and internet access. Mental health support services and skills training are also offered to each service user.
““We’re so pleased to be opening up new sites to provide support to more people in need. One of our values is to give our clients dignity in the properties we provide – and I believe we have achieved it.”
Rob Saggs, CEO of CHESS Homeless
Earlier this year, Chelmsford City Council secured £98,000 in funding for homelessness, of which £50,000 went towards supported accommodation for people at risk of repeated homelessness. This is the first winter for many years that beds should not need to be provided in church halls because there is so much proper accommodation available for those sleeping rough in the city.
If you are concerned about someone who is or appears to be homeless, you can send an alert Streetlink. A trained outreach worker will find and connect them with the appropriate support. There is also a Streetlink app, available on the Apple Android devices.
Charlotte writes about the environment, parks, recycling, business, planning, public realm and democratic services.