Pioneering Compass Centre to point homeless in right direction

Release Date:  20-May-2008

A new Bristol homelessness centre is set to fundamentally change the way that long-term homeless people with complex needs are assessed, supported and helped to get their lives back on track. 

The £1.6 million Compass Centre on Jamaica Street, which will officially open on 29 May, provides streamlined and flexible services for homeless adults including a night centre for rough sleepers, outreach facilities for those on the streets, a health service, and training and education services with an on-site training café.

The Centre is a key part of Bristol City Council’s strategy to prevent homelessness and has been set up in partnership with English Churches Housing Group (ECHG), using ECHG’s existing hostel in Kingsdown.  The Centre will act as a multi-agency hub, bringing together an important consortium of local agencies, ensuring homeless people receive support tailored to their individual needs - whether they need employment training, skills development, health care or drugs treatment.

“This is a tremendous achievement for Bristol which will make a real difference in terms of reducing the numbers of homeless people on the streets and this in turn will have a positive knock-on effect for the whole city,” said Leader of Bristol City Council, Helen Holland.  “The range of services available at the Compass Centre will ensure that we don’t just get people off the streets but that we give them the support, training and employment opportunities to keep them from returning to the streets, making their lives healthier and safer.”

ECHG’s Managing Director, Derek Caren, said: “ECHG is very excited to be hosting this project.  The Compass Centre is aptly named - it offers a highly targeted approach to tackling homelessness.  By bringing together a range of agencies in one place staff are able to make a thorough initial assessement of a person’s needs and can swiftly put in place the necessary range of support.  This in turn, stops the cycle of homelessness and all the associated costs to health, policing and the community.”

Within the Compass Centre ECHG will be running a night centre for people facing sleeping rough, as well as an Outreach Team working with people who are still on the streets and Drugs Workers to tackle the addiction issues many people face. 

Through Bristol Primary Care Trust there will be a GP surgery and triage centre for minor injuries which will be run by the Homeless Health Centre, aimed at tackling the health problems many homeless people face.

At the physical the heart of the Centre is the Compass Café, run by the Novas Group and using homeless volunteers.  The volunteers will have the opportunity to gain valuable food and hygiene qualifications that can enable them to secure employment in Bristol’s booming catering industry.

Alabare Christian Care will run the Centre’s training, education and employment programme, which includes an IT suite and learning area where anything from structured courses to alternative therapy sessions will take place.

Mental health services will be provided by Second Step Housing Association with Outreach Workers actively engaging with clients on the streets.

There will also be short-stay accommodation provided by the Salvation Army and Places for People in two of their Bristol hostels.  These will have twenty-four bed spaces offering temporary housing while allowing people to access the Compass Centre’s services, pending securing more appropriate accommodation.

Helen Holland and Derek Caren will be joined by representatives from all the partner agencies, as well as service users, at the official opening of the Compass Centre.

Author:  Mark Nicholson

For all media enquiries relating to this press release, please contact Corporate Communications on 0117 922 2650.

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