Alleviating poverty, bringing hope
Menu

NOAH Expands Into Bedford

NOAH Enterprise is extending its service into Bedford and across the County. Through Government funding, and in partnership with Bedford Borough Council and the other local authorities in the County, NOAH has launched a ‘No Second Night Out’ street outreach service to minimise, if not eliminate, rough sleeping across Bedfordshire.

Sleeping rough brings with it a network of complications, from life-threatening health conditions to loss of self-worth and hope. Isolation and fear often mean that rough sleepers find it difficult to trust other people, and the longer they remain on the street, the more excluded they become from society.

The NOAH Enterprise street outreach teams go out every day to find people who are sleeping rough. They gradually build up trusting relationships, and offer support and encouragement to bring homeless men and women off the streets and into appropriate accommodation and from there onto the staircase that leads to a more constructive and better quality of life.

We work in close partnership with the statutory services and other voluntary organisations working in the homeless sector. If you see anyone sleeping rough or living on the streets please contact us using the national helpline 0300 500 0914 (www.streetlink.org.uk); alternatively you can contact us directly on 01234 217112.

Jim O’Connor, Chief Executive of NOAH Enterprise, hugely welcomes this initiative:

“No-one should sleep or live on the streets.

Evidence shows that people from all walks of life can end up on the streets. Indeed most of us are only 3 steps away. People sleeping rough in Bedfordshire are like you and I, human beings who deserve to be treated with respect and regard for their personal dignity. It is our privilege at NOAH to have the opportunity to work with them to help them improve their quality of their life. We are delighted to be doing that in partnership with Bedford Borough Council and neighbouring authorities as well as the excellent voluntary agencies working in the homeless sector in the County.