ORL Future Plans
At the end of March 2020 we had to close the Night Shelter when Central Government deemed any dormitory style accommodation to be an unsuitable and unsafe environment for rough sleepers. All our guests were placed in temporary accommodation by LCC and we have continued to provide support to these guests.
During this period, we have kept up to date with national Government and Public Health guidelines on the safety of reopening shelters and on the plans for providing accommodation for rough sleepers.
The guidance we have received is that night shelters delivered in shared spaces/dormitories are unsafe to reopen.
We have been reviewing all the guidance we have received and assessing how this impacts the health and safety of our guests, volunteers, staff and other users of the venues we use. After taking all this into consideration we have made the very difficult decision to close the Night Shelter and Winter Night Shelter for the remainder of this year and into the early part of next year. We will however review this decision as we receive more guidance.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues we have also been exploring how to develop and grow ORL to respond to the current and ongoing housing and support needs of people who are homeless or rough sleeping.
ORL currently runs a housing project – ORL Homes, where we provide accommodation and support to 12 individuals. Therefore, it seemed a natural choice to look at expanding this project. We are in the process of purchasing another property, and we have been offered three more properties on long-term leases. Between them we will be able to offer accommodation to 17 more individuals, taking our total capacity to 29. Whilst in our houses we will continue to provide support for people to rebuild their lives and move-on. As lockdown measures ease we hope that some of you will be able to provide either befriending or practical support to our residents. We will also be needing furniture, bedding, items to stock up the kitchens e.g. crockery, cutlery etc. If you are able to donate please contact us.
The next few months are going to be busy for us as we make organisational changes and secure these additional properties for our clients. We will aim to keep you informed of developments as they happen and no doubt call on you as we need help.
