Our history

It all started in 1991 with one man, some sandwiches and a flask of hot coffee. Walking the streets of Manchester, our founder Peter Green could not believe that there were people on his doorstep who had nothing. So, with a little help from his Christian faith, he set out to do something. Luckily, Peter and his wife Beryl had plenty of love – and sandwiches – to share.

A team soon began to grow out of Peter and Beryl’s love and dedication, and the Maranatha Church donated a double decker bus to help with their outreach. In the bible, Barnabas means encourager, and this bus did just that. With a lick of paint, a drop of oil and plenty of love, Barnabus was born.

Peter and Beryl gave everything they had to the charity over 25 years, supporting so many men and women who still remember the couple with affection. Most importantly, those we help today continue to benefit from the unconditional love that Peter and Beryl gave to everyone they met on their amazing journey.

Latest

Altrincham Open Studios donates much needed PPE

Seeing how people and their communities have come together to support each other through this COVID19 pandemic has been a true source of happiness during these challenging times. Altrincham Open Studios are a great example of this, they crowdfunded so that they could use their facilities to make visors for paramedics, hospitals, GP surgeries and now also schools and charities.
End of week blog 05/06/2020

As we come to the close of #VolunteerWeek we would like to say a huge thank you to all of our amazing volunteers. Every day of the year we are thankful and humbled by our volunteer’s commitment to give up their time to help those less fortunate than themselves. No task is too great for them and the impact they have on our friends is priceless and life changing. This was made even more obvious to us during this COVID19 crisis and lockdown.
Run for Barnabus

If you love running set yourself the challenge to raise some funds and Run for Barnabus. Turn your love for track, pathway or cross country running into a great way to raise sponsorship and help people experiencing homelessness with every mile you run.
Manchester Half Marathon

The Tommy’s Manchester Half is a 13.1 mile challenge that takes place every October, starting and finishing by Old Trafford, and is easily the biggest in the North West. This could be one of the only fundraising events of the year making it a really important opportunity for us to raise vital funds.

End of Week Blog 27/03/2020

What a week it’s been, not just for Barnabus, but for the whole of our nation. Last week was all about shock and panic, this week was all about mobilisation when we realised we were moving to lockdown due to the corona virus.
Our support team are still a lifeline through this lockdown

Stephen Rowley is our Head of Support; before the crisis he was supporting rough sleepers and people experiencing homelessness with one to one support at our Support Office and Drop in. During this lockdown he is now providing support on the phone to rough sleepers in hotels and tenants self isolating in our Resettlement project. He is also feeding back to the team any deliveries or practical support that may be needed.
End of week blog 8/05/2020

Sadly there is still a small group of people rough sleeping in Manchester, spending their days and nights on the streets. We are now doing street outreach again to feed these people and support them into accommodation
Volunteer with us

Barnabus relies on over 90 volunteers a week to open our doors and welcome people who need a friend. We have volunteers from all over Greater Manchester, as well as Cheshire and Lancashire, all age groups and all walks of life.
Homelessness in Manchester

If you’ve walked the streets of Manchester, you’ve almost certainly passed by a rough sleeper. In fact, you’ve probably noticed that there are more people living and sleeping out on the streets. In 2010, the official rough sleeper figure was 7. In 2018, it was 94. Unfortunately, we know that in reality, the number is much higher. Please read on to find out more about homelessness in our city.
Donate Items

During this Covid 19 crisis we're working in partnership with Manchester City Council and other charities to support rough sleepers into accommodation so that they can self isolate and keep safe, while ensuring they have essential supplies and food.
End of week blog 15/05/2020

Last week we reached a milestone. Since the start of lockdown we have prepared, cooked and delivered over fifteen thousand meals to vulnerable people and people experiencing homelessness in Manchester. We spoke to some of our staff and volunteers to hear what their thoughts are on reaching this milestone.
End of Week Blog 17/04/2020

How we're adapting our operations to help people experiencing homelessness through the Coronavirus Crisis and lockdown.
Fundraising ideas

Swim, cycle, skydive, climb a mountain, shave your head, organise an event - the only limit is your imagination! We’ve had people running marathons all over Europe, riding their bikes the length of the country, dressing up as Smurfs and we even had a lady in her mid 80's playing an organ for 14 hours non-stop!
Our history

It all started in 1991 with one man, some sandwiches and a flask of hot coffee. Walking the streets of Manchester, our founder Peter Green could not believe that there were people on his doorstep who had nothing. So, with a little help from his Christian faith, he set out to do something. Luckily, Peter and his wife Beryl had plenty of love – and sandwiches – to share.