Nick Roberts (Windsor Homeless Project) informed the Forum that over the last 2 or 3 years, there was a realisation that more room and resources had been needed to support the homeless community. The charity named Windsor Homeless Project was in the process of exchanging contracts with the Church of England to have the property of Alma road, be put into their name.

Nick Roberts stated that this would benefit the Windsor community through multiple different projects including:

·       The Homeless Project

·       Street Angels

·       More than a Shelter

·       Food Share

Nick Roberts stated that this would be very beneficial for projects such as Food share, as a central Windsor location would be better for the increased number of visitors that they had been receiving. There have been 2,700 visits between September 2020 and August 2021.

Nick Roberts stated that the new building, accompanied with the café, would allow for people to gain key life skills, and give some individuals a platform to enter paid employment. This would be done through a trainee programme.

Nick Roberts acknowledged that the building needed work to maintain standards and there had been support from the RBWM with this. Fundraising would be required to further these developments and works.

The Chairman asked how many days per week this would be in operation.

Nick Roberts said that the homeless drop-in would be Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with lunch on Saturdays. Tuesdays and Thursdays, the café would be open to the public, where volunteers would run it and earnings are used to fund the charity.  The lease would allow for 7-day ownership per week.

Councillor Rayner asked where staff will be recruited from. Nick Roberts said that currently the plan was to recruit volunteers, and staff already employed. Further discussions are to be had once the lease on the building is confirmed.

Councillor Rayner also asked if this model had been seen by Nick Roberts before in other boroughs.

Nick Roberts said that he had seen similarities in Watford, but it differed slightly. The training programme was identified as setting it apart from other borough’s programmes.

Councillor Tisi asked if Nick Roberts was in touch with the Green Room School, as they had similar focusses regarding work and if any ideas for fundraising had been discussed.

Nick Roberts confirmed he had spoken with members from the school and would share ideas closely with them. Also, a fundraising event would be going ahead on the 15^th October.

Councillor Carole Da Costa asked if Nick Roberts was in contact with community workers in other areas. Nick Roberts stressed that this was his wish, however meeting clashes and limited staff numbers made this difficult to do.

Councillor Wisdom Da Costa asked in general if the homeless people who attend the centre are interested in going into employment and how many people are expected to come from Windsor.

Nick Roberts said that most people he worked with did have the desire to get back to work, although acknowledged it came with its difficulties. Most people did come from Windsor; however, anybody would be welcomed.

Councillor McWilliams asked for an update on the demand on services since the end of the eviction ban and what links there were to the rough sleeper’s pathway. Nick Roberts said that he had no involvement with certain meetings with other plans but noted that more still needed to be done.

Councillor Bateson asked what the general age group was. Nick Roberts stated that in Windsor, the main demographic was male and aged between 35 and 60.

Councillor Shelim thanked Nick Roberts for all he was doing for the homeless community. Nick Roberts thanked him for his support.