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

The Dwell Project

The Dwell Project is the umbrella for all of our different faith-based ministries that runs throughout Barnabus. When people come through our doors, we don’t just offer them hope of a change in their physical circumstances but we also offer them hope for their emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. We aim to teach our guests how to abide and thrive in Christ. Empowering people into a home in Christ's love.
Our Support Office Reopens

Since lockdown our support team has been providing support over the phone to people experiencing homelessness. We've now made our office COVID19 secure, this week we have been able to reopen our support office to offer face to face support.
Wellbox care packages support Barnabus

Send you friends, family or colleagues a care package of delicious snacks and support people experiencing homelessness. Wellbox (operated by South Catering) is generously donating the cost of a meal for one of our friends for each box ordered
Sad news from the streets

It doesn't happen often anymore, thank goodness, but a couple of weeks ago, someone we knew died on the streets in Manchester.

Sad news from the streets

It doesn't happen often anymore, thank goodness, but a couple of weeks ago, someone we knew died on the streets in Manchester.
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.
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.
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
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've cooked and delivered 40,000 meals to rough sleepers in emergency accommodation so that they could self isolate and keep safe, while ensuring they have essential supplies and food. We are also out on early morning outreach to support rough sleepers who may be new due to this crisis or mentally unable to cope with being indoors.
40,000 meals delivered to rough sleepers during Lockdown

The Beacon Team, our volunteers, Feed my City, the Rev Ellie and Alan and Darren (our delivery team) have now cooked and delivered over 40,000 meals to people experiencing homelessness in Manchester. As we prepare to hand over the food provision to the hotels which are housing people experiencing homelessness we are taking the opportunity to reflect on the last three months and everyone that has made it possible.
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.