ROUGH sleepers in Worcester will now have access to shared living accommodation to help rebuild their lives after a city homelessness charity received a six-figure funding boost.
Maggs Day Centre, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, has been able to buy two properties to offer communal living space and support for up to 16 people.
The cash boost, which was provided by Unity Trust Bank, comes after Maggs had 287 vulnerable people using its services at its Worcester day centre last year.
Its second day centre in Malvern also welcomed 46 people in 2023.
The day centre at St Alban’s Church, Deansway, has been providing hot meals, clothing, shower facilities and outreach support to those at risk of homelessness for four decades.
Maggs was founded in 1984 by five members of a local church after a homeless man died after years of sleeping rough on the streets in Worcester.
Alison Isaacs, Accommodation Project Team Leader at Maggs, said: “Being homeless is not something people choose to do but it can become part of their identity, with their support network consisting of others in the same situation as themselves.
“The regular support given by the team allows our residents to take ownership of past issues such as financial instability and debts, family breakdown and addictions.
“Working with other agencies, we support them into fulfilling their potential and controlling their futures.
“The aim is to move people on and into their own independent tenancies, volunteering and employment but fundamentally provide an address, somewhere they feel safe, and can call home.”
