Winter is about to bite - and Greater Manchester needs to provide its homeless 1,000 beds

As temperatures drop across the country this week, Mancs are being asked to dig deep to provide ‘1,000 beds’ for homeless people.

The Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (GMMC) — the organisation behind the Bed Every Night scheme which has helped reduce rough sleeping the city-region — is launching the appeal this month to ensure it can tackle the problem over the festive period. The ‘1000 Beds for Christmas’ fundraiser needs £30,000 in order to fund 1,000 nights of accommodation for those at risk of being on the streets this winter.

It comes amid a sharp rise in rough sleeping, with a 42 percent rise in the issue seen from 2022 to August 2023, with charities expecting the situation to worsen when results of the November count, done earlier this month, are released. However, the 2022 level was 62 percent lower than the peak of 2017.

READ MORE: Bomb squad scrambled and 100m cordon put in place after 'unknown substances' found

READ MORE: Two teenagers due to go on trial accused of murdering Brianna Ghey - latest updates

GMMC, a politically independent organisation with the Labour Mayor Andy Burnham as a patron — believes the rise is down to ‘the ongoing cost of living crisis alongside the ever increasing demand for housing and spiralling housing costs’ putting ‘ financial pressure on families and individuals’ which has ‘rarely been higher’.

Mr Burnham says that, with those pressures not set to ease before the end of the year, the Bed Every Night scheme ‘is as important as it ever has been’. He added: “As the cold winter nights approach it is vital that we can offer a bed to anyone sleeping rough that needs one.

“And with the cost-of-living crisis set to continue, more people could find themselves facing incredible