Manvers Street emergency shelter secures lease extension

Manvers Street Baptist Church has extended the lease for Julian House’s emergency off-the-streets shelter for people who are rough sleeping, following a period of uncertainty for the charity.  

We are continuing to work with the council to secure a long-term solution.

Despite significant efforts over the past three years, we have not been able to find an alternative site to secure the future of the hostel. 

Helen Bedser, Chief Executive of Julian House, says “We are hugely grateful to the church for extending our lease, enabling us to keep this much-needed services open in the short term. However, we certainly cannot be complacent – we are determined to find a sustainable solution that will help us meaningfully support people who are sleeping rough in our local community. In the meantime, we will continue to provide the best service we can to people who are homeless or recovering from homelessness in Bath and the surrounding areas.”

The emergency shelter at Manvers Street has been run by Julian House since 1987. It is a direct access facility which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Each client gets allocated a private ‘pod’ (sleeping space) and receives three meals a day, access to shower and washing facilities and wrap-around support from the Julian House team.

There is also space for support workers to meet with clients and create a personalised support plan which sets out their next steps towards secure, sustainable accommodation.

The on-site team includes a specialist healthcare team and volunteers who give up their time to help run activities and cook meals.

Recently, the charity has faced challenges with rising costs, increasing demand and funding cuts, and had to make some difficult decisions – most notably, the Bike Workshop social enterprise which closed in October.  

Helen Bedser says “Despite the challenges we’ve faced, Julian House’s commitment remains firm and we are continuing to support increasing numbers of people in all our services across the South and West of England – over 2,700 in the last year alone.”