A NEWLY refurbished common room at Pinder House in Skipton - Craven's homeless hub - is being offered to agencies to help them connect with those who have experienced rough sleeping and homelessness.

The Craven Rough Sleeper Pathway based at Pinder House provides people with supported accommodation to work on their goals, gain their independence and find their own home.

The service aims to prevent street homelessness as quickly as possible; is run by Horton Housing and is funded by North Yorkshire Council.

Its recent open day at Pinder House saw outside agencies go along to find out about the newly refurbished communal area, which features a chill area with a television and games, a pool table, computers, and a chalkboard wall for people to 'unleash their creativity.'

External support agencies will use the newly refurbished room to run drop-ins for tenants around access to employment, training, meaningful activities, and specialist support, including substance misuse and mental health.

One tenant said: “The great thing about the communal room at Pinder is we can sit and chat about anything and have a laugh. We also do sessions on different things like active citizenship, a pool competition and a Halloween party.”

Another said: “I like to use the communal room where we are able to meet and talk with each other and things we may know can help each other, and staff are there to help. Together we do cooking along with staff in the kitchen next to the communal room and we can do different activities.”

Andy Kirk, Horton Housing’s Head of Service for North Yorkshire said: “The open day was fantastic. I was glad so many external agencies came to visit and we are continuing to build relationships with them.

“It’s great that we now have space that local agencies can use to promote their services to our tenants. Many people in our service feel daunted and overwhelmed to go out of their accommodation to visit these services. The drop-ins give them chance to access and connect with local agencies in a space where they feel safe and comfortable, helping them towards their goals and independence.

“We are interested in developing our network of local organisations and would like to hear from services willing to work with us or run drop-ins. This would give our tenants a wider range of educational, training, employment, and other skills and opportunities provided by services in the local area.”

To contact the Craven Rough Sleeper Pathway, phone 01756 794882 or email pinderhouse@hortonhousing.co.uk