(Please see update below after hiccup.)
In less than two weeks a petition to help the Isle of Wight homeless has attracted over 4,000 signatures. 4,252 to be precise.
The petition was started by Islander, Clare Heathcote, in response to the night shelter at Downside Community Centre closing its doors for the final time at the end of February.
Clare, along with many others, was concerned that those relying on the night shelter would have nowhere else to go overnight during the cold period, so she started a campaign to push for an alternative solution.
Temporary night shelter opens tonight
The petition gathered pace pretty quickly and in an update to petition supporters, yesterday (Thursday) Clare said,
“On Friday 11th March a new temporary night shelter will open at The Riverside Centre in Newport.
“Additionally, Trevor and The Pop Up Soup Kitchen have a dedicated space in Newport, from where he and his team will be serving soup from the catering trailer.”
Praise for Executive member
Clare goes on to praise Cllr Julia Baker-Smith, the Executive member responsible, for acting swiftly to help find an alternative solution.
She says,
“Cllr Julia Baker-Smith, who heads up Planning and Housing on the Executive contacted us within hours of the petition gaining momentum and has worked tirelessly with the Pop Up Soup Kitchen and the Davises from The Night Shelter since.
“Thanks to her efforts, your support and a great deal of concern and empathy from all concerned, we have fixed this within a week of meeting Julia. Thanks are also due to Mike Bullpit.
Update: Shelter won’t reopen
Cllr Baker Smith has been in touch with an update.
“Sadly the reopening of the homeless shelter has fallen through due to lack of availability of volunteers
“I had managed to arrange a venue but unfortunately that fell through yesterday due to volunteer issues. I am obviously very disappointed and concerned for the people still sleeping rough during this period. I will continue to work to find a permanent solution.”
The campaign continues
A more permanent solution is still being worked on, but in the meantime, thanks to the efforts of all those involved, during this cold snap, the homeless on the Isle of Wight will have somewhere to go overnight.
Article edit
9am: Update from JBS added
Image: pedrosimoes7 under CC BY 2.0
