Call for new 'drop-in centre' for rough sleepers in Oxford

Homes4All planned to open a temporary night shelter in the former Lush store in Cornmarket Street.

But when the volunteer group did not move forward with securing the necessary permissions and licences, it opened a cafe.

Lush, which moved its cosmetics store to the Westgate Centre at the end of last year, allowed the centre to go ahead in its premises until the lease ran out at the end of January.

Now the cafe has closed but former Lord Mayor Elise Benjamin, who volunteers with homelessness groups in the city, said the Homes4All set-up had highlighted a desperate need.

She added: “The Homes4All cafe at Lush highlighted a very real need for a friendly daytime drop-in space for homeless people in the city centre.

“Its location in Cornmarket was very visible – it was somewhere for rough sleepers to go during the day and volunteers let them sleep on the sofa. They were given donations of cakes, biscuits, sandwiches, soup and Pot Noodles.

“It did provide somewhere safe for rough sleepers to go during the day.”

Ms Benjamin, Lord Mayor from 2011-2012, praised seven Oxford Diocese churches for opening up their buildings to the homeless until March.

The churches are taking it in turns to provide beds for 10 rough sleepers a night, seven days a week.

The former Green city councillor added: “This certainly helps but of course they don’t operate during the daytime.

“There were people walking into the former Lush store who had just been made homeless and sometimes the homeless people themselves would volunteer to help others.”

“What it did achieve was to illustrate there is a very real need for a similar kind of drop-in centre in a central locations to be run on a permanent basis.

“Funding should be provided to train volunteers if a new suitable premises could be found.”

Homes4All decided to shut thecafe before the end of the month after charity, Wash My Pink Jumper, which provided insurance cover, withdrew its support.