A total of 26 homeless people used the first ever winter night shelter in Wokingham which was open in January and February. The shelter was a two-month pilot project co-ordinated by the Pilgrim Hearts Trust and it closed on Saturday February 29th. It’s hoped that a shelter will open again next winter.
Over 100 volunteers from local churches and charities helped keep the shelter open.
The Pilgrim Hearts Trust runs two winter night shelters: in Wokingham and Bracknell. Pilgrim Hearts Chairman David Chalmers-Brown says there are so many homeless in these two towns that the services offered have been in great demand. “So far this year, over 100 homeless people have been given shelter, a bed for the night and hot meals by Pilgrim Hearts Trust”.
Pilgrim Hearts Trust Director, Elaine Chalmers-Brown says the statistics show there is a desperate need to bring an end to homelessness: “Many are homeless as a result of domestic violence, people are so stressed, and all are at breaking point”.
In Bracknell the night shelter has been open since December and will remain open until the end of March. A total of 75 homeless have been welcomed so far; the highest number since the Pilgrim Hearts Trust began opening a winter night shelter in the town five years ago.
