A new colourful £150,000 homeless shelter, that has been compared to the ‘Big Brother’ house, complete with beach huts, plus pool and ping pong tables is set to open next month.
Hotel entrepreneur Lawrence Kenwright used £150,000 of his own money to help homeless people off the streets by building a new shelter providing food, accommodation and workshops.
He and his wife Katie are operating a 24-hour shelter in a converted warehouse on the outskirts of Liverpool city centre.
The wealthy businessman says he wants to provide a warm, safe space to stop people dying on the streets of Liverpool.
The colourful £150,000 homeless shelter, which has been compared to the Big Brother house, comes complete with beach huts, pool and ping pong tables, plus chess boards
The shelter also has exotic plants and palm tree murals on the walls to give it a seaside look
It has room for 50 people to sleep at night, plus a communal area with bean bags and sofas
The shelter, which has room for 50 people to sleep at night, has a communal area with a pool table, a table tennis table, chess boards and beanbags, along with palm trees and sunset murals on the walls.
He hopes to use the venue as a soup kitchen in the day, which could feed up to 200 of the city’s most vulnerable citizens.
The converted warehouse will have medical professionals on call and drug and alcohol councillors will also be on site.
There are plans to host workshops to help people improve their job skills and get jobs in a bid to boost the city’s economy.
It is due to open on National Homeless day on October 10.
Mr Kenwright has campaigned to help homeless people for some time, and has outlined plans to offer specific homes to drug addicts in order to help them rebuild their lives.
The aim of the shelter is to provide a safe and warm environment for rough sleepers
Workshops and drug addiction will also be run from the 24-hour shelter to help homeless people get off the street
Mr Kenwright wanted to get around the ‘red tape’ rough sleeps face trying to get help from different organisations
He took his proposals to the Labour conference in Liverpool this week.
Mr Kenwright added: ‘The UK’s homeless system, in its current state, is smashed to pieces.
‘Those involved in trying to stamp out homelessness and rough sleeping are jaded by red tape and an ever-decreasing pot of money that more and more organisations are fighting over.
‘I have personally witnessed with my own eyes the plight homeless people face and even when they actually want to gain help on many occasions, it just isn’t there.
‘It can be due to a lack of funding, beds or just a lack of connectivity.
‘Through the homeless shelter, I want local people to come together and work as a community by volunteering at the shelter to ensure nobody in Liverpool spends a night on the streets.’
Businessman Lawrence Kenwright used £150,000 of his own money to help pay for the shelter
Mr Kenwright wanted to help the homeless of his home city of Liverpool get off the streets
May James, a visitor to the shelter user told the Liverpool Echo: ‘Wow Lawrence that’s amazing, it could be a Big Brother house, well done.’
Fellow shelter user, Carla Marie, added: ‘Absolutely fabulous it made me cry… it’s better than the Big Brother house… well done to you and your team.’
Cllr Lynnie Hinnigan, Liverpool’s Deputy Mayor and cabinet member for housing, praised the initiative.
She said: ‘Lawrence is one of Liverpool’s most prominent business people but, despite his workload, it is clear that he and his family are passionate about taking action to help people faced with homelessness. His commitment to supporting the city address the problem is undeniable.
‘I have met with him to discuss the proposals and I hope that we can work together.
‘Working together is key to addressing the issue. As a council, we spend £12m a year tackling homelessness.
‘The mayor is fully committed and open to help from our residents, the business community and the many voluntary and community organisations out there to eradicate homelessness in our city.’