Oasis Aquila Housing is one of the main providers of homelessness services in the North East, and they’ve taken action ahead of the exciting Great Exhibition of the North events planned this summer to spread the word about how we can all practically help people sleeping rough in our communities.
Many cities have come under fire in recent months for clearing the streets of homeless people in preparation for large-scale events, but instead the charity is keen to showcase how the region is proactively working to help people out of housing crisis.
Crystal Hicks, Head of Business Development at the charity said, “We’ve got fantastic services for people who are homeless, and we want people to know how they can respond to anyone they see who may appear to be sleeping rough on the streets whilst they are out and about exploring all the Great Exhibition of the North has to offer.
It’s natural to want to help if you see someone rough sleeping – and they probably will appreciate the offer of a hot drink or some food. But the best thing you can do is to signpost them to where they can get immediate support and help with getting back on their feet long-term.”
Oasis Aquila Housing are the only charity offering an open access drop-in for anyone facing homelessness in Gateshead. Their drop-in centre Basis@Gateshead is open for anyone finding themselves in housing crisis, and is specifically resourced to help individuals with more than just a cup of tea and laundry facilities. Support Workers are on hand at the centre to also provide specialist housing advice, access to emergency accommodation and referrals into additional services that people often struggle to access. Basis@Gateshead, located in Progress House on Warwick Street in Gateshead is open 9am – 2pm Monday to Friday.
If you’ve seen someone sleeping rough at night, and The charity is encouraging people to use the StreetLink app, which will send an alert to a local outreach team.
For more information visit www.oasisaquilahousing.org