Lincolnshire based organisation asks for caravan and camping parks to provide accommodation to the homeless
Following on from a cut in funding to help the homeless, and with many hostels across the country becoming full to capacity, homeless support group, East Coast Homeless Outreach UK (ECHO), has called for caravan and camping parks to provide accommodation for homeless people.
The idea to provide the homeless with somewhere to stay at caravan and camping parks comes from ECHO founder, Paul Jackson, following offering his spare tent to homeless people last year.
After placing an advert for a spare caravan and then being donated one by a Grimsby firm, the charity is now approaching various sites by telephone, asking if people can stay following a recent successful pilot at West End Farm in Weston-super-Mare.
Owner of West End Farm, Chris Clarges, who invited a homeless man to stay at his site, spoke of the benefits of inviting those with no fixed abode to stay, saying: “We had a young man with mild learning difficulties come and stay with us for two to three weeks. He gave me a hand with work shovelling gravel and so we reduced the cost of him being here, it was great all round. We didn’t mind him helping out,” he said.
“We are a family run site and it is something we would do out of season. We would also have to be selective of who we take on, we have to think of the people who are paying first,” Clarges went on.
With caravan season in full swing and an increase in bookings at many parks, it may become more and more difficult for ECHO to find accommodation as campsites enter into their busy seasons, but they are set to persevere.
