Residents raise concerns about new homeless shelter in St Paul's
CONCERNS have been raised by St Paul's residents about the decision to open a homeless shelter.
The facility has been launched by charity P3 this week to help keep five people off the streets.
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unhappy: Daud McDonald, from St Paul's Residents' Association
But Daud McDonald, vice- chairman of St Paul's Residents' Association, believes it is the wrong location for the service.
He said: "I am not against homeless people having a shelter. They need somewhere to go. But why does it have to be in St Paul's where we already have a lot of social provision?"
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The St Paul's Road resident wants to know why residents were not consulted about the shelter opening in the area.
He added: "It just feels like the council is dumping on us yet again."
County councillor for the ward Charmain Shepherd (LD, St Mark's, St Paul's and St Peter's) admitted she did not know the shelter was opening in that location until residents told her.
The shelter has been opened by charity P3 after it was awarded a contract by Gloucestershire County Council to deliver services to help tackle homelessness.
An existing night shelter run by Gear (Gloucestershire Emergency Accommodation Resources) in Gloucester closed on Wednesday.
P3 said it wanted to make sure its shelter was ready to take over.
It is also opening an eight-bed shelter in Gloucester and an additional 17 beds in different units across the county.
A spokesman for P3 defended the decision to open in St Paul's. He said: "Due to the timescale we had to find a property of this size, in an area close to local amenities; this particular property was the most suitable for the needs of our clients.
"The five people living in the house were originally from the area and are hoping to regain their independence.
"It is the policy of P3 to not accept homeless people who have not come through the referral pathways.
"This means there won't be people queuing on the street, or congregating around the property.
"We are more than happy to attend any community meetings to reassure any concerns residents may have."
Councillor Peter Jeffries, cabinet member for housing and safety at Cheltenham Borough Council, said: "We welcome any accommodation in Cheltenham that helps people who are homeless.
"This is the first time that we've had direct access accommodation of this nature in the borough."
6 Comments
by daudji
Sunday, March 03 2013, 9:42PM
“@Saffy
Thanks I'm glad your experience was positive and I am prepared to wait and see, Although my point is why open all social provision in areas of high deprivation is that an expectation you think suitable for the homeless and the posher areas above them, outside of there expectations, they all come from poorer areas anyway don't they.
@Dibblebibble. Er, OK then yeah!”
by dibblebibble
Sunday, March 03 2013, 11:54AM
“Quote "He said: "I am not against homeless people having a shelter.""....
yes you are.”
by Saffy
Sunday, March 03 2013, 10:11AM
“@ Daudji
I did wake up one morning and find a hostel/ymca for young people had been opened up at the back of my house and its hardly liberal,it's understanding.i wasnt understanding at first,in fact i was like you,why by me,why whaddon where there is poverty and social issues anyway...but there havent been any incidents i know of...and the reason for St. Paul's,whaddon(where I live) are most probably chosen for places like this is to probably ease people back into society..how out of place would a homeless person feel stuck in the middle of a predominately upper class area?you have to see both sides of the story.and give people a chance.
Hope that eases your doubts on my opinions.”
by daudji
Sunday, March 03 2013, 9:44AM
“@Saffy
If you woke up one morning and found that a hostel for the homeless had been opened next door to you I doubt you would be so liberal!
While its true that this service is essential why does it have to be placed in St Pauls? Why not Tivoli or or one of the more salubrious areas of Cheltenham we are over burdened with social provision in st pauls and the fact the community were not consulted speaks volumes”
by Saffy
Saturday, March 02 2013, 7:20PM
“They have to go somewhere don't they?
Put yourself in these 5 people's shoes....why can't they have a chance,and if there is a suitable property,unused why shouldn't it be used for this purpose.
If it wasn't here it would be somewhere else.”
by GlosAnarchy
Saturday, March 02 2013, 2:13PM
“I feel sorry for the residents of St Pauls and Kingsholm for having the problem dumped on their doorsteps but Cheltenham has been exporting it's homeless to the Southgate area of Gloucester for years!”