The Beacon Support Centre

The Beacon Support Centre

For many of our friends who are experiencing homelessness the Beacon Support centre will be their first experience with Barnabus.

Our dedicated staff and volunteers run four morning sessions a week (9am till 12pm, Monday - Thursday) , where people can meet one of our engagement workers to begin working with our guests with support work around, benefits, homelessness assessments, access to the NHS, mental health services, recovery groups and more. We will still offer those accessing the building a shower, a pack of clothing, plus a take away food offer. The Beacon is where we can build trust with our friends and start to build a plan for their future or assist them with problems they are having. Read how our friend was able to engage with support while at the Beacon when he had struggled elsewhere.

The challenges posed by our small premises and COVID19 mean that we will have to limit our building to 2 guests a time to keep them, our volunteers and staff safe. However as we go forward and the risks of COVID19 are lowered we plan to open up the support centre more to allow more people at a time in and to run afternoon support group sessions. These will be focused on helping our friends to deal with the stresses of their lives on the streets and overcome the challenges that prevent them from leaving rough sleeping behind.

How did the Beacon help in 2019-2020 (before COVID19)

27,104 visits to our drop-in sessions
Our showers were used 2,366 times
2,364 fresh sets of clothes were given out
12,991 breakfasts and 8,815 evening meals were eaten
1,144 toiletry packs were used
2,513 visitors were seen by a Support Worker

Activities

Due to social distancing measures our social, creative and skill based sessions are under review. We want to get these back up and running as soon as it is safe to do so. To find out what we were doing before Lockdown click on the page above. We believe that everybody deserves the opportunity to express themselves. That’s why we run creative, social and educational sessions at the Beacon. Read more

Support Centre timetable

Our Beacon Support Centre is open every weekday between 9am till 12pm. Please find details of our activities and services in our timetable. Read more

Latest

From desperation to life changing support and new found hope

When our stories converged, Robin had been in and out of different accommodation, mainly due to his behaviour when under the influence of alcohol. He was between places at this point, sleeping on the streets as everyone was told to stay at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. In this blog, we trace Robin’s story from his Beacon visits to his admission to a mental health and substance misuse facility.
Celebrating another first at Barnabus

After years and years of prayer and working day in and out with our guests, we have seen God do amazing things in people’s lives. But last week, Barnabus was able to celebrate another first, we got to baptise our friend Grace* during last week's God Slot session
Jess' first week volunteering

This week is #volunteersweek so we are sitting down with some of our volunteers to chat with them about their experiences volunteering with us. We thought it would be good to sit down with our newest volunteer Jess to see how she was settling in. It was only her 3rd day of volunteering with us when we put her on the spot to ask her a few questions.
The Manchester Marathon

The Manchester Marathon is one of the UK's most popular running events. It's also the UK's flattest Marathon route so it's the ideal event if its your first time attempting the 26.2 mile distance or you want to try for a personal best.

Donate Items

As an essential service we are very much open please support our work with donations of the items we are short of but need to run our service everyday. You can also support us through our amazon wish list or other online gifts. Alternatively you can send us Supermarket / One4All gift cards.
Volunteer with us

Our wonderful volunteers are the heart of what we do and without them, we couldn’t do the work we do to get people housed. 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.
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.
The journey of Recovery can often be two steps forward and one step back, that’s why we never give up

Many of our friends have had a traumatic past and can take drink or drugs as a way to escape from those memories or the harsh realities of rough sleeping. They may also struggle with challenging mental health conditions. At times even though they receive support and encouragement they can sadly take two steps forward and then one step back. We understand this and we are always here to support and empower our friends on their difficult journey towards new hope, new homes and a new life.
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.
In The Box with Marcus Rashford

Launched on Thursday 17th October, ‘In-The-Box’ is a Christmas campaign created by Manchester United and England International footballer Marcus Rashford to support some of Manchester’s biggest frontline services for those experiencing homelessness – Barnabus, Centrepoint, and Lifeshare.
Success finding our friend a new home during lockdown

In July, Aimee, our Resettlement Worker, was able to house someone experiencing homelessness. This is doubly impressive as she has done this despite the challenges posed by COVID19 and in her first month back from maternity leave. Our outreach team first met this man when he was rough sleeping on Market Street in May during the peak of the Lockdown. Our support team were able to house him in temporary accommodation in the city.
RENU Upcycling Furniture Project

Beautifully upcycled furniture for your home, from someone without one. Our upcycling project is all about upskilling our friends to empower them back into work.
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.