How Beacon House has spent 25 years helping homeless in Colchester

Based in Crouch Street, the charity acts as a primary health care centre for people who are or have been homeless or are at risk of losing their accommodation.

Beacon House Ministries offers a number of support services, including food and drink, showering and laundry facilities and clothing.

Vulnerable residents can also benefit from medical care or get a helping hand with their housing or universal credit applications.

Chief executive Steve Brown, 62, of Kirby Cross, said: “We exist to transform lives not simply to serve the need.

“Each person who engages with us basically starts on a journey.

“Our occupational therapist will work with them with a programme and in an ideal world we journey with them until such point when they are living a self-fulfilling life in their own or in shared accommodation.”

Beacon House

The Beacon House is a Christian charity which also works with other organisations across the borough to prevent homelessness.

Some of its partners include Open Road, Phoenix Futures, Essex Probation and the Colchester Emergency Night Shelter.

Mr Brown added: “We are not an island.

“Where we don’t have the expertise we partner with other people who have it.

“The whole intention is to transform lives that are in disarray and chaos for one reason or another and help them to move forward.”

Beacon House was helping the most vulnerable residents of the community even during the multiple lockdowns.

But the pandemic meant things had to be dealt with differently this time.

Using the windows facing out on to the street, staff were handing out food and drink, giving out medical supplies and helping with paperwork and applications.

The only time someone could go inside was if there was an urgent need to do so.

Beacon House

Mr Brown added: “We also became a delivery service because people were asked to remain indoors so we took out television and radios and puzzles and games.

“Our nursing staff and occupational therapists went out to visit the people.

“We were able to continue to offer all our services but not necessarily inside the building.”

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Beacon House helps more than 600 people every year, which drives the annual cost of running the charity to around £400,000.

The homeless day centre gets funding from different areas, including donations, churches, businesses and grants.

There are 21 ‘move on’ housing options on offer, including nine self-contained flats and three houses divided into four, which have individual bedrooms but shared bathrooms and kitchen area.

The idea behind Beacon House’s housing programme is to support individuals to make the transition to independent living.

L to R: Kelly Lawrence and Hilary Hannan

Mr Brown added: “Most of our people are single. In terms of housing they are at the bottom of the priority list.

“So if we do not do something to help them it will be a long time before they receive any accommodation.

“We facilitate that in a way that simply wouldn’t happen if we weren’t there.”

The charity is currently appealing for small pop-up tents and small light sleeping bags.

The Gazette is giving charities like Beacon House the chance to take a share of a £20,000 giveaway.

Our publisher, the Gannett Foundation, is providing £125,000 in cash to support charities across the country with £20,000 to be allocated in our area.

Beacon House has been awarded £4,996 to renovate the showers at its shelter in 2009 and now we are asking our readers to nominate their favourite local charities to be considered for a grant too.

Simply log-on to www.gazette-news.co.uk/readerschoice and fill in your nomination form.

You can also write to us, confirming the name and address of the charity you’d like to nominate and why to: Readers’ Choice Cash For Charity Nominations, Unit 1 Brunel Court, Brunel Way, Severalls Industrial Estate, Colchester, CO4 9XP, by the closing date of Sunday October 3, 2021.