At the end of February last year, the Folkestone Winter Shelter, run by volunteers from the Rainbow Centre and beyond, decided to extend the dates of their service after a long spell of cold weather. Reporter Molly Mileham-Chappell met the team behind the programme to find out how the service is coping in the project’s 10th year...

“Once upon a time, it was that ‘you’ve not worked hard enough’ and ‘you must be a drunk’.

"But it can happen to anyone. It’s creeping closer.”

This is the first home truth Ali Chambers delivers about homelessness.

Ali is chief executive officer of the Rainbow Centre in Folkestone - a Christian charity that supports individuals and families experiencing deprivation or hardship across the Folkestone and Hythe district.

Among their many schemes is the annual Winter Shelter, now in its 10th year.

It is run in conjunction with Churches Together in Folkestone, usually from December to February, offering emergency accommodation for up to 13 people a night.

Seven churches host, offering up accommodation space one evening a week, as well as dinner, breakfast and proper bedding.

“It’s been running for a decade now, and quite often that would be a cause for celebration but actually, we don’t really think that because the issues surrounding homelessness are still here”, says Ali.

Last year, a bout of cold weather prompted the volunteers and organisers to jump into action and extend their services.

She adds that the project is responsive to change: “Being short term, we always make an assessment and an evaluation at the end of each project year.

"So what we have learnt is that actually, the seasons are changing, and we may well have to start looking at perhaps altering the timing that we run the shelter.”

A lot of work goes into making the project run smoothly and there are several obstacles to overcome.

Jana Ernest, the Winter Shelter manager, says it takes most of the year to prepare: “Long before the Winter Shelter opens its doors to our homeless people, I come in and we start looking for the venues that would be willing to offer us their space for the homeless people for the winter months.

“We then look at recruiting the volunteers for the shelter, and a week before the shelter opens, we start looking at the logistics around the rolling shelter.

“Because we move from venue to venue, every day of the week, we do need to have bags that can be moved easily and packed up.

"We’ve got bedding that goes from venue to venue, and we also have the van that travels between.”

She added: “We have got over 200 volunteers involved this year, which sounds a lot but we do need at least 16 for every shift of the week.

“We’ve also got a day centre open at the Rainbow Centre for those staying in the Winter Shelter, so we do need volunteers to help with that - without volunteers, we couldn’t.”

"It's been running for a decade now, and quite often that would be a cause for celebration but actually, we don't really think that because the issues surrounding homelessness are still here" - Ali Chambers

So what next? How do you get strangers from all walks of life to engage with each other and accept the help on offer?

Ali said: “When I took over as project manager, as my first experience of working with homelessness - I was thinking ‘How could I possibly have anything in common with anybody that was sleeping rough on the streets?’

“But the concept of the shelter is that as well as providing a warm place to stay, we offer a hot meal. So everyone sits around a table.

"Everyone’s equal at that point in time, and just actually sitting there talking to somebody - they’re people.

"They have the same hopes and dreams as everyone else and homelessness can affect everybody.

“Just experiencing - let’s say - a relationship breakdown, job loss, a couple of ill judged decisions - things can unravel very, very quickly.

"So the cliched image of somebody living on the street who’s never really had a job in their life and perhaps drinks too much is just really very far from the truth.”

The project still supports people with issues such as these though.

Jana says: “We work very closely with other agencies because clients often come with other issues and there are some that are closely connected to homelessness.”

"This can include drug and alcohol dependencies and mental health issues."

At the half way point in the shelter in January, 40 registrations had been made by individuals who found themselves homeless and wanted to take part in the scheme.

Out of this 40, organisers were able to offer a bed space to 31 people. They also managed to help house nine of those that came through the door.

Jana says: “It’s very positive, taking into consideration how difficult it is to house people in Folkestone as it is.

"The rents are going up and the affordability is not great - there isn’t enough to offer accommodation to everyone.”

And sometimes, it’s the clients’ own choice not to accept housing, because they may not be emotionally ready.

Ali explains: “Many have gone through the system and explained themselves several times.

"The cliched image of somebody living on the street who's never had a job in their life and perhaps drinks too much is just really very far from the truth" - Ali Chambers

"The housing landscape is changing a lot. It’s about meeting people where they are and housing may not be the solution for them at the time.”

In the last few weeks, Folkestone and Hythe District Council (FHDC) has brought in its Severe Weather Emergency Protocol (SWEP) a handful of times.

It is different to the winter shelter in that anyone sleeping rough in the district is entitled to emergency accommodation when the protocol is activated in freezing temperatures.

FHDC announced back in November that it was changing emergency housing provisions for rough sleepers, explaining that SWEP would now be implemented when temperatures drop below freezing for a single night, or if there are extenuating factors such as severe wind-chill, snow or rain.

In the past, the council had followed government guidelines to activate the system if extreme weather was predicted on three consecutive nights.

Ali said: “They don’t have to do it. The fact FHDC do it is great.”

People already in the shelter do not qualify for SWEP.

Access to the shelter is provided on a risk assessment basis and each guest is reviewed on a case by case basis.

Nearer the top of the list will often be people who have engaged with the centre previously and have a close connection to the area.

There is also a no drugs and alcohol policy when staying overnight.

The Rainbow Centre has now made plans to extend the shelter this year.

Ali says that all venues are keen and volunteers are happy to continue but it will only happen in the event of extreme weather.