Homeless village appeal for curtains and bedding
BBCAn appeal has been made to furnish each of the properties at a purpose-built village for homeless people on the edge of Manchester city centre.
Forty homes have been built underneath a series of railway arches in Castlefield - but the apartments need items like mirrors, cutlery, curtains and bedding.
Laighton Walters from the homeless charity Embassy, which will operate the village, said: "The apartments are brand new but they don't quite look like homes yet.
"It costs about £850 to kit out each one, so we just need support to get that over the line," he added.
The resettlement manager added: "The apartments need a mirror for when you're brushing your teeth in the morning, a shower cap, a kettle, a toaster and a toilet roll holder".
The charity Embassy aims to help homeless people to move on to private sector rental, with full time employment to help ease the burden on social housing.
Arran Ashcroft said he was addicted to drugs before he was helped by Embassy.
"I was sofa surfing, sleeping rough and committing crime to fund my drug taking," he said.
The 39-year-old from Rusholme added: "Embassy helped me to address my mental health issues, they taught me how to pay bills, they put me in contact with the right people and I'm in my own place now so my life has completely changed".
"Given the opportunity, I'll offer my support when the homeless village opens".
Embassy launched in 2019 when the charity acquired a luxury tour bus and converted the coach into a mobile hostel for homeless people.
The re-purposed coach was used until the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020, when they had to stop because social distancing was impossible on the bus.
Since then, the charity has used permanent accommodation while teaching its residents how to budget, shop, cook and look after a home.
The charity has supported about 200 people since 2019 and claims that 92% of the men they have worked with have remained in their own homes.
The homeless village has been built with the help of Manchester's business community, whose members gave their work for free after an appeal.
James Whittaker, managing director of the property giant Peel Waters, said: "Firstly, we had to get planning consent and that involved around 50 different companies from acoustic engineers, to lawyers and architects".
"Over £2m worth of work has been given for free by Manchester's business community and that is nothing but outstanding".
Work is underway on landscaping and the utilities need to be connected before the first residents are expected to move into the homeless village in February.
The site will have a village hall, complete with space to socialise and eat together, a laundry room, computers, plus a training kitchen to help residents learn to cook.
The village will also have outdoor green spaces and mini allotments next to the Bridgewater Canal.
Originally, the village was going to be built using shipping containers but the idea was later rejected in favour of warm, soundproofed, modular homes.
