What is the scale of homelessness in the area?
On most evenings all 18 of the beds in the Julian House night shelter are full. Although mattresses allow some extra capacity, some clients still have to be turned away and have no other alternative but to sleep rough. For these men and women all that the staff can offer is a couple of blankets to make their long night a bit more comfortable. Other clients stay away – some because they are uneasy about coming in to Julian House and others because mental health issues have alienated them from any semblance of authority. Because some clients don’t want their ‘safe’ sleeping spots to be found it can be difficult to gauge numbers accurately. Best estimates suggest that on any given evening around 40 men and women will be sleeping rough, using someone’s floor space or lucky enough to have a bed in Julian House. Over the course of a year over 300 different individuals will use the Julian House Night Shelters.
