A Blackburn homeless drop-in has extended its opening hours to five days a week as it struggles to cope with the rise in demand for its services.

Phoenix Hub, located on Clayton Street and run by The Salvation Army, is a support hub that acts as a one-stop shop for every service that people experiencing homelessness may need.

It brings together an optician, hepatitis C nurse, housing needs team from the council and a substance misuse team - all under one roof.

Initially opening only three days a week and on limited hours at its launch in May 2023, the hub is now open Monday to Friday from 9am until 3pm.

The hub has seen its hours extended, doubling from 15 hours to 30 hours a week, to cope with the demand it is seeing from members of the Blackburn community who are in crisis.

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Sandra Skellern, specialist support worker for The Salvation Army in Blackburn, works in Phoenix Hub five days a week.

She said: “The Salvation Army has always worked with members of the homeless community offering accommodation for people here in Blackburn through our Lifehouse (hostel), Bramwell House, but we knew that there was a greater need than just the people we could offer accommodation to the wider homeless community of street sleepers and sofa surfers.

“Following conversations with our existing service users, we found that they needed to be able to access the services provided over a greater period of time, rather than just a few hours on a few days a week in order to continue to rebuild their life and start to end the cycle of homelessness.

“We have always been busy, right from the first day we opened our doors, but as the cost of living and housing crises continue we are seeing more and more people requiring support and so we felt it necessary to extend our opening hours and also the number of days we could offer support in order for everyone to access the much-needed help they require over a longer amount of time.”

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Along with people who are homeless, Phoenix Hub also supports local people in times of crisis with clients able to access a clothing bank, washing machine and drier, a hot breakfast, showering facilities, emergency food parcels and a warm and safe space.

Run by The Salvation Army and supported by volunteers, the church and charity has worked together with the local council and Lancashire-based health organisations to create the health and wellbeing service for the town’s most vulnerable people, including rough sleepers, sofa surfers and people in temporary accommodation.

The Salvation Army has a Just Giving page dedicated specifically to its work at Phoenix Hub and while donations of all sizes are welcome, people are encouraged to donate only what they can afford.