At Apex Self Storage, we’re committed to doing our bit for the community. We’ve helped raise funds for victims of the Manchester Arena Bomb, Cervical Cancer and scout groups. One issue that we’re particularly passionate about is helping the city’s homeless population and, in January 2017, we helped to feed homeless people for the Booth Centre.

It’s recently been discovered that there are double the amount of rough sleepers than official data has suggested. With that in mind, it’s more important than ever to us that the city we love continues to tackle this problem. Here are just a few ways that Manchester is helping the city’s homeless.

The Booth Centre

Located in Strangeways, the Booth Centre is dedicated to improving the lives of people who are homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless. They do this by running daily sessions which cover the arts, employment and skills, as well as offering everyone present a healthy breakfast and lunch. They’re doing great work and, in 2018, they helped 110 people return home or reconnect with friends and family and 92 people get into employment.

It’s all about rebuilding trust, confidence and self-esteem, which is why their friendly staff and volunteers are always on hand for help and support as well as practical advice. During the difficult winter period, the Booth Centre also recently challenged people in the community to sleep out for one night to identify some of the challenges homeless people struggle with every night. They’re also putting on an Xmas pantomime from the 13th – 15th December.

The Mayor’s Pledge To Eradicate Homelessness

Backed by a £1.8m grant from an ethical investment fund, Andy Burnham has pledged to eradicate homelessness in Manchester by 2020. As part of this scheme, which started in December 2017, 270 properties have been offered for homeless people and already 109 of the 509 have now moved into their new homes.

Time will tell how successful this initiative will be, as homeless numbers are expected to rise again, but it’s a good starting point.

Danny Collins’ Alternative Tour of Manchester

To raise awareness of Manchester’s homeless problem, Danny Collins – a former soldier and rough sleeper of four years – is running his ‘alternative tour’ of Manchester. Throughout this tour, he guides people around the areas of the city where he used to sleep and locations that illustrate the city as he sees it.

This is all done in an effort to raise awareness for the homeless problem in the city and to give members of the community a glimpse into life as a rough sleeper to generate further interest and action for the issue.

Who We Are

Along with our community work, Apex Self Storage offers affordable storage facilities for customers around Manchester and the surrounding area. For more info, contact us.