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

Manchester Half Marathon

The Manchester Half Marathon is one of the UK's most popular running events. It's also the one UK's flattest Half Marathon routes so it's the ideal event if its your first time attempting the 13.1 mile distance or you want to try for a personal best.
New mother flourishing after a dark and difficult year

Claire* came to Barnabus with her partner in March 2021. She had recently found out she was pregnant and needed somewhere safe, warm and dry to sleep. They were both rough sleeping after having fled violence and modern-day slavery. One of our caseworkers immediately flagged Claire as a high priority and managed to secure a hostel room for the pair. Tragically, the respite from her months of hardship were short-lived…
Sarah Lavelle

Trustee
Matt Lacey

Trustee

Donate Items

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 ordering urgently needed items online or through shopping vouchers.
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.
Dragon Boat Race, Sale Water Park, 2023 Date TBC

Join us next year at Sale Water Park for some awesome FUNdraising. We really can’t wait to take to the water again. We hope you will join in the fun and raise vital life changing funds to help empower people experiencing homelessness into a home.
Join our team

There are currently two exciting opportunities for people who want to make a difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness in Manchester.
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.
Trafford Centre Barton Tower Abseil, Saturday 25th June, 2022

Take on this unique fundraising challenge that is sure to get the adrenaline pumping as you abseil 170ft or over 50 metres. Take on this awesome challenge on your own or with your team and colleagues
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.
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.
How we're helping

The stress and anxiety people can suffer when they are homeless means they often feel afraid to reach out and taking that small step towards getting help can seem like a mammoth task. That’s why our team is there to help from the start, giving tailored support and advice every single step of the way.