A day centre for homeless people in Oxford could be closed down, after a report recommending funding cuts last month.
The Gap, located on Park End street, is currently funded by Oxford City Council. Without council money the project would have to close.
The report, which reviewed all of Oxford’s day centres, also recommended that the council remove the £10,000 funding for The Gatehouse drop-in centre for over 25s.
The Gap provides services for up to 60 homeless people a day aged between 16 and 25. Help offered includes access to shower and laundry facilities, computers, donated clothes and two daily meals. The centre also gives confidential advice and information to help people find accommodation and runs a range of classes in essential skills such as IT.
The closure of the project would leave the youngest of Oxford’s homeless community without a place to go. Age limits are in place in other shelters and drop-in centres to protect young people from abuse from older residents.
The report, which suggested the project would be unlikely to reflect the council’s new agendas of “rehabilitation” and “empowerment” better than other services, has been opposed by Councillor Patrick Murray.
Mr Murray, who was himself homeless in the winter of 1999-2000 due to depression, described how The Gap had helped him back into society. He has expressed concern for the planned closure.
“I want to see the work about where young people and people with mental health problems are going to go.
“I want to see that there’s going to be no gap in provision before any decisions about funding are taken.”
Critics claim that the proposed closure would force young homeless out of the ‘safe haven’ and on to the street.
One homeless girl in her twenties who asked not to be named described how she had woken up while sleeping on the streets to find two men with their hands under her clothes. “I’ve been sexually harassed, urinated on and spat at while on the street. It’s like people no longer see me as a human being.”
The proposal has caused concern among the student community. One Brasenose student, who volunteers giving out food and hot drinks to the homeless, said she was outraged by the report on funding cuts. “When Oxford is such an extravagantly wealthy town, the fact that the most vulnerable people are now going to face more time on the streets is simply unjustifiable.”
The report, which suggested the project was unlikely to reflect the council’s new agendas of “rehabilitation” and “empowerment” as well as other services, has been opposed by Councillor Patrick Murray.
Mr Murray, who was himself homeless in the winter of 1999-2000, described how The Gap had helped him back into society. He has expressed concern for the planned closure.
“I want to see the work about where young people and people with mental health problems are going to go.
“I want to see that there’s going to be no gap in provision before any decisions about funding are taken.”
A final decision about the fate of The Gap will be made in February 2010 when budgeting decisions for the council will be made.
