Welfare Services
Opening times
Monday to Friday . . . 8.15am-3.45pm
Weekends . . . . . . . . . . 1pm-2.30pm
Bank Hols . . . . . . . . . .10am-3pm
The Welfare Centre in Park Street, Luton, opens every day of the year. A full range of services is available Monday to Friday, at weekends the Centre opens lunchtimes to provide a cooked meal only, and a limited service is available on Bank Holidays.
The service given to those who come to NOAH Enterprise for help and support is structured on meeting priority needs in a context of welcome, respect for the individual and genuine care. Those who come to NOAH are often afflicted in some way. They may be addicted to alcohol or drugs or both; they may be mentally ill; some are seriously deprived through circumstances, for example those who have been in institutions, whether it be young people’s homes, prison or even the forces, can find it difficult to cope within the unstructured freedom of society. Others have suffered abuse or experienced harrowing personal loss. Loneliness and isolation are also emerging factors that move people to find NOAH, where they will have the opportunity of being with others in an environment that is friendly and non-judgemental.
Our clients are mostly male, aged between 17 and 60. Currently the majority are English, but there is a growing number of other ethnicities in the people supported. Many Asylum Seekers also come to the Centre, mainly for clothing and bedding. Almost all clients get their income from the Benefits’ system. A nominal charge, which is waived in cases of genuine need, is made for breakfast, lunch, laundry, clothes and hairdressing.
Weekday services at the Welfare Centre include:
Cooked breakfast – e.g. egg and beans on toast plus cereal plus a cup of tea. Last year (2005) 5,000 breakfasts were served.
Cooked lunch – typically a main course includes meat, veg and potatoes or a salad, followed by, for example, fruit pie and custard, bread and butter, and a cup of tea. Some 19,000 lunches were provided in 2005.
