It’s The Foxton’s day centre on Thursday morning and temperatures outside are 4C.
The government has issued a cold weather alert for the week and Preston City Council’s severe weather emergency protocol (SWEP) is in place.
The people starting to come into The Foxton’s day centre, on Fox Street, did not have a warm place to stay that night and so slept outside.
Read more: The Big PNE Sleep Out returns to tackle female homelessness in the city
Breakfast looks like spaghetti hoops on toast for most people. The day centre is a degree of shelter and normality not present that they wouldn’t otherwise get.
Michelle Wignall, a project worker who is in charge at The Foxton this morning, says: “Not everyone is keen on sharing where they’ve slept, because they don’t want other people going there if they’ve found a secure or safe place.
“They get access to a phone and computer, and chargers, if they need them. There’s donated hats and scarves – and a needle exchange.”
There’s a breakfast bar with fresh fruit, along with more clothing if people need them. There’s showers, a laundry room and a room where a GP will visit three times a week. There’s a quiet space for private conversations – which can include visits from Samaritans – but can also just be to escape the chatter on the breakfast area.
The heavy rain on Tuesday – followed by temperatures dropping to frost levels and Met Office warnings for ice – means that the services provided are especially important.
Michelle tells us: “The needs of people are different in the winter. We get people who are bitterly cold, and it’s the wet that’s almost more of a problem. The wet on top of the cold this week has been problematic.
“People can layer up, they’re not daft. And SWEP provision will help people too.”
The Foxton helps people who have found themselves in difficult circumstances for all sorts of different reasons. This does include addiction, including people who aren’t ready for recovery, but also the breakdown of relationships, those who have lost their job, those released from prison, discharged from hospitals and even those who have been through the asylum system.
The day centre is in demand year round. Cold weather clearly results in a spike, but a quieter morning in winter can mean that some clients have managed to find alternative ways to keep warm.
Michelle adds: “They’re not just addicts. We get lecturers, architects, tailors and builders. There are ex-veterans. They may have addiction issues, which obviously comes with challenges for them, but for the vast majority their priority is to find somewhere warm.
“We are a support network to a lot of people that don’t have people.”
There is sometimes an overlap between the rough-sleeping community and the community that commits crimes – particularly shoplifting. Michelle acknowledges that people’s circumstances sometimes drive them to make desperate decisions.
She says: “They are not always conscious decisions. We had a girl who called saying she needed ten quid having stolen from a corner shop who was threatening to press charges.
“She was going to end up back in prison for the sake of ten pounds after stealing food. We will try to catch up with her and get that situation sorted.
“A short prison sentence doesn’t solve anything. People come out of jail to rough sleeping, they engage with services and do their best, secure some accommodation but then they’re back in jail for another short stint but nowhere to live.
“If they’re trying, there needs to be a bit of understanding.”
Rob has been rough-sleeping in Preston for ten years after he split up with his partner. He has spent time in prison, but experienced a lot of cruelty in his life.
He tells us: “I don’t get no support. I sleep in a tent on Avenham Park. It feels like a lottery in terms of who gets help.
“You get your breakfast every day here, it’s a community hub. You get to speak to people.
“I do use drugs – but if I wasn’t in this situation I wouldn’t be. It’s to get by. If I had a house, I wouldn’t be.”
Stephen is originally from Manchester but came to Preston in 2021. He came out of prison into a job which he worked on for 15 months, before the contract expired.
He says: “Then I ended up out here and that’s pretty much it.
“I had a place once but they chucked me out for putting up another homeless person.”
Stephen doesn’t want to say where he has been sleeping.
He says: “Nobody will find where I sleep and that’s on purpose. My last place, I told one person and before you knew it, it was full of everybody.”
Another man, Paddy, is clearly a regular face at the day centre. He says he can tell me about their experiences.
He says: “There’s frost on the ground this morning and people out there without sleeping bags.
“It’s the middle of the winter. And we have no place to go on the weekend.
“If there was even a place like on a Saturday, it would make a hell of a difference. If your belly is empty, you’re going to do whatever you need to do to feed it. So people shoplift, and they’re doing crimes like that to survive.
“This is a city now. Other cities all have places for the homeless to go, but The Foxton is the only place we’ve got. This is the place where it happens.”
The last person we speak to is Bilal.
He is from Kuwait originally and was in a hotel for one month before being relocated to Preston. His asylum claim was accepted but now he is homeless and sleeping on a park – without a tent. We’re asked not to share which in case he is targeted.
He receives support from The Foxton in the form of breakfast and clothes – he got a sleeping bag from The Foxton on Wednesday.
The forecast for Thursday night says temperatures will be -2C.
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Blog Preston is partnering with The Foxton Centre for the third Sleep Out event, aiming to raise £100,000 to help The Foxton and Preston North End’s Community and Education Trust.
How to get involved
Registration is open for the Big PNE Sleep Out, it’s free to register and you can take part as an individual or as a team. Sign up here to take part in the Big PNE Sleep Out.
Note, you must be over-18 to take part due to health and safety reasons but we are planning a number of initiatives for young people to be able to support the Sleep Out as well.
How to donate
Each participant will receive their own Justgiving page once registered to take part and it will add to the overall total.
Anyone can make a donation to support the event at the overall Justgiving page.
A chance for young people to get involved
Young people or groups who work with young people or schools can email jack.mountain@pne.com for more information
Any other questions?
Anyone with questions about the Big PNE Sleep Out can contact foxton50@thefoxton.org
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