For those working in the homelessness sector, it is evident that Manchester has a growing and complex problem when it comes to people sleeping rough on the streets. In order to address this issue, Manchester City Council, in partnership with the many voluntary groups and organisations working in the city, have been creating new strategies to tackle homelessness and give support to people affected by it.
One strand of this work is the Manchester Homelessness Charter. The hope is that the charter will provide a high-profile set of principles that establish how Manchester as a city deal with homelessness and how homeless people are treated. The idea is that, once it is written, the council, voluntary sector organisations, faith groups, businesses and the general public will sign up to the charter to demonstrate their support. This will hopefully engender a sense of corporate responsibility for the issues of homelessness, and make it easier to involve people in the various new and established projects aimed at preventing and tackling homelessness.
The idea of the charter was launched at an event at the Friends’ Meeting House on 9 October. Discussions took place in groups, focused on different aspects of homelessness such as health, social inclusion and accommodation. Prior to this event, the Coalition of Relief (COR) surveyed around 80 homeless people and 40 other local residents to find out what issues are most important to them when it comes to homelessness. The findings from this research and the discussions will provide the starting point for the ongoing discussion around the charter.
Since the launch event, Jez Green, who works for Mustard Tree, has taken a lead on the process of facilitating the writing of a homelessness charter for Manchester. He has organised a series of meetings at different venues around the city to ensure that homeless people, those with experience of homelessness, and people working directly with them have the strongest input into the creation of the charter.
If you wish to be involved in any of those discussions, the following meetings have already been planned.
Monday 30 November 2015, 1.30pm-3.30pm
The Booth Centre, Edward Holt House, Pimblett Street, M3 1FU
Thursday 3 December, 10.30am-12.30pm
Lifeshare, 142 Dantzic Street, Manchester M4 4DN
Friday 4 December, 10.30am-12.30pm
King's House, Sidney Street, Manchester M1 7HB
Monday 7 December, 2pm-4pm
Victoria House, 50 Victoria Street, Openshaw, Manchester M11 2LY
Tuesday 8 December, 2pm-4pm
The Limes, 76 Daisy Bank Road, Manchester M14 5GL
Thursday 10 December, 10.30am-12.30pm
LGBT Foundation, 5 Richmond St, Manchester M1 3HF
Thursday 10 December, 2pm-4pm
MMU - Room BR 2.32 Brooks Building, Birley, 53 Bonsall Street, Hulme, Manchester M15 6GX
For further information and to confirm your attendance, email Jez at: [email protected]