The Bedford Winter Night Shelter has been in operation every evening since its inception on the 1st December 2023. We have been blown away by the generosity of our community in Bedford (and further afield!) in creating a safe place for the town’s most vulnerable over this period.
Thank you to those of you who have given your time, treasure, or talents to support the Winter Night Shelter. This is a summary to date of the difference you’ve made to homeless people in our Bedford community.
You’ll find some facts and figures for the Shelter, remember behind every statistic, is a valuable individual who potentially would have been left to face the cold weather outside.
This is our Bedford, and no-one should face homelessness alone!
What We’ve Achieved Together
Thanks to the generosity and kindness from our supporters, at the end of January the Shelter had provided over 675 bed spaces and over 1300 meals to those who would have otherwise been outside in the cold and hungry.
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In The Media
We’ve had a flurry of coverage in local and national media coverage including:
🗞️ BBC News: Beds, Bucks & Herts
🗞️ BBC South East
🗞️ Bedford Today
And this was shared nationally on BBC Breakfast News!
Our Guests Say…
Richard, a guest, said: “I like that it is an open and safe environment. As long as you are respectful, it’s good.”
Another, who did not want to give their name, said: “If I couldn’t come here, I would be sleeping out on concrete, so this is much better. “My partner and I have been made to feel welcome together.”
Christopher, 38, said he had been homeless for more than a week, and would otherwise most likely be sleeping in a tent.
Rachel [pictured] praised the volunteers for giving up their free time “just to help”. “It baffles me that some people are that nice to just do that… it puts a little bit of faith back in humanity.”
Read the full article on the BBC News website.
Credit: BBC: Danny Fullbrook & Kate Bradbrook
Our Volunteers
Volunteer Dani said: “I’ve wanted to do something like this for ages, it’s been really nice getting to know people.”
Beth Lloyd-Jones, a social worker, shared that she enjoyed meeting people and hearing their stories.
Thank You!
As you can see, the Winter Night Shelter has and is making a difference to the homeless people of Bedford every night. And there are opportunities for further connection and support through our Outreach Team which is fabulous.
A big cheer for our wonderful team of volunteers who give their time to cover shifts, provide meals, and help with housekeeping and to our donors for their generosity and support. We literally couldn’t have done this without YOU!
And On It Goes…
With the support of our volunteers we have been able to extend the opening of the shelter until 21st March due to the successful start and the cold snap doesn’t stop from 1st March! It will get our guests through the worst of the winter weather.
You too can support the Bedford Winter Night Shelter.
Thank you!
p.s. Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter to hear more about the Winter Night Shelter.
