Donation helps on the front line of the fight against social exclusion
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January 18, 2019Quarterly Communication of UGLE 12th June 2019
February 20, 2019
A £5,000 donation to help the homeless and socially excluded in Grimsby will make a significant difference to the work of the town’s Harbour Place.
Operating from Grimsby’s first day and night centre in Hope Street since September last year, Robin Barr and his staff and volunteers fight a never-ending tide of rising numbers of the homeless. They’ve helped 150 people since the move to the former medical centre, finding permanent accommodation for more than 50. But there are still 45 or 50 rough sleepers in North East Lincolnshire, says Robin. “The need won’t go away,” he says. “We have to find ways to make our work sustainable.”
Although the £5,000 donation from the Masonic Charitable Foundation, handed over by PGM Dave Wheeler and Provincial Charity Steward Pete Tong, isn’t a small amount of money, the difference it makes will be enormous. Said Robin: “£26 allows us to provide a bed for the night in our night shelter. If we can keep someone in the shelter for 21 nights, we have a very good track record of getting them into permanent accommodation, where we will support them as they move forward. “We would love to develop some ‘move on’ accommodation for service users. If we could do that, then the rental income from the properties would help us to continue our work here.”
