Established 2005 Registered Charity No. 1110656

Scottish Charity Register No. SC043760

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Swindon shelter turns away 300

May 23 2009
Threshold Housing spokesperson says the figures disprove the official homeless tally: four people A shelter in Swindon has been forced to turn away around 300 people because there were no free beds. In just six months, Culvery Court sent 288 rough sleepers back onto the streets due to a lack of space. Despite this, official Government figures released in September claimed there are just four homeless people in Swindon. But Threshold Housing, the charity running the shelter, said the real number was a lot higher. A total of 308 people were refused a bed between April to September, with 288 being turned away because there was no space. The remaining few were turned away due to drugs issues, non-payment or because they were banned. Phil Smith, of Threshold Housing, said: "The local authority says we don't have a homeless problem - here are the figures." Threshold Housing is a nonprofit organisation that runs a street outreach team for rough sleepers and supported accommodation services. Culvery Court - one of just two hostels in Swindon - has 20 beds, and statistics for the six months show they have been on average 99 per cent full. Swindon Council spokesman Richard Freeman said: "We believe we have a very good picture of the scale of the homelessness problem in Swindon, and the council spends £1m a year dealing with it. The council provides £463,000 to Threshold Housing Link for the work that it does."
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