Less than a year later it has been announced that the night shelter is to open seven days a week November to March.
The Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk approached Kings Lynn Winter Night Shelter, now a charity, requesting that they consider opening seven nights a week from November through to March.
The Shelter’s vision is that ‘King’s Lynn should be a town where nobody has to sleep rough on the streets’. With this in mind, they had no difficulty accepting the request. However, the Shelter now needs £92,000 to pay staff, rent and utilities. They will also need to triple the number of volunteers from 40 to 120.
The Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk have committed £25,000 to the project and are seeking match funding for the night shelter. The Mayor has also made the night shelter one of his charities for the year.
Andrew Frere-Smith, Development Worker for Imagine Norfolk Together, believes this will be a real step forward in addressing the needs of rough sleepers next winter.
“We would love to see homeless people, and especially the rough sleepers, being more effectively cared for. We are really grateful to the Borough Council and the Purfleet Trust for their support. It is our hope that soon King’s Lynn will be a town where no one has to sleep rough on the streets. I believe that with the support of the community we can make it happen.”
If you would like to volunteer or obtain further information about the night shelter please contact Andrew on 07949 964932 or email him at andrew.frere-smith@dioceseofnorwich.org
What is Imagine Norfolk Together?
Imagine Norfolk Together is a joint venture between the Church Urban Fund and the Diocese of Norwich. Their aim is to celebrate and support the work of local Christians. They provide churches with support as they develop and deliver social action initiatives, run workshops, training and events in order to build people’s capacity to take action and develop local partnerships. You can find out more about them here.