The charity tackling 'biting' cost-of-living crisis with its own homes - helped by M.E.N. readers

A homeless charity has come up with an innovative approach to tackling the ‘biting’ cost-of-living crisis — and it couldn’t have done it without the help of Manchester Evening News readers.

Barnabus, which started out in the city centre in 1991, opens its first homes for rent this week, allowing homeless people it supports to have a settled living situation at affordable rates. It’s a long-term solution that chief executive Yvonne Hope had ‘years ago’.

It’s also a solution Yvonne believes ‘could work to cut homeless numbers’ on a city-wide scale. At the moment, the project is starting small with three properties — two flats and a shared house — opening at undisclosed locations in Manchester. The plan is to have 12 bedrooms available by the end of the financial year.

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“It’s something we always wanted. It’s somewhere people can stay and not move on from [in order] to build a life,” explained Yvonne. Not having a system where homeless people are supported from their first visit to a help centre to independent living means service users can fall off the wagon, she added.

“Until now we have worked with partners to find accommodation, and we find that once people leave as they struggle with recovery,” Yvonne went on. “We want to continue that with ourselves.

“A lot of places people get passed onto do not have enough support. The number one issue is loneliness. These are people who have been in a community of rough sleepers, to be put in a home will mean they lose those friendships.

“That can be traumatic. People also are not used to managing the bills, after a long period of homelessness you can forget the skills you need to manage the home.

“People also