Inspiring hope

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Lighting a way out of homelessness

The Winchester Beacon is open 365 days a year and provides accommodation, food and vital support services to help break the cycle of homelessness and enable our residents to rebuild their lives.

We offer much more than just a bed for the night; our aim is to create a safe, caring temporary home for our residents, and give support when it’s needed most. Our provision includes comfortable accommodation, a nutritious menu and wide-ranging services to restore self-esteem, develop skills, and support people back into long-term accommodation and independent living.

Our vision is to transform lives, inspire hope and end homelessness.

Last year,

We gave 53 people a bed

We served 10,956 meals to our residents

We provided 356 hours of free counselling and psychotherapy

The average length of stay was 146 nights

A foundation of hope

21st October 2024

A foundation of hope

Seeking volunteer trustees

17th October 2024

Seeking volunteer trustees

Supporters come together on World Homeless Day

15th October 2024

Supporters come together on World Homeless Day

We’d love to keep in touch with you about the work we do, and how you can help and support us.

winchesterbeacon

A big thank you to @rapidreliefteam_uk for their r

A big thank you to @rapidreliefteam_uk for their recent donation of blankets. We are really grateful for the support and for being able to go into the winter with a good supply of blankets. We will be able to hand them out to people who come to our reception window in need of support.

In 2023, 143 people came to our window needing help, 72 of these people where sleeping rough. Sadly, as we are operating with a waiting list we cannot always provide accommodation to everyone who needs it.

Through our window we are able to give practical and emotional support to non-residents who are in need of help. Whilst we cannot always solve their problems we can be a welcoming face and a listening ear. We can make people feel seen and remembered.

Do you believe? We are looking for passionate and

Do you believe?

We are looking for passionate and committed people to join our Board of Trustees. This is an opportunity to show your belief in our residents and give your support to ensure our charity reaches its full potential.

Find out more via the link in our bio.

#Trustee #opportunity #Boardmember #charity #volunteering

A couple of our evening volunteers recently challe

A couple of our evening volunteers recently challenged some of our residents to a game of scrabble. Everyone enjoyed the escapism and the opportunity to come together.

Keen to repeat the experience, if anyone has a full size Scrabble board that they are willing to donate it would make it much easier to play than this mini version! If you can help please email admin@winchesterbeacon.org.uk.

#scrabble #boardgames

Carers, Amy and Tina, recently dropped by to donat

Carers, Amy and Tina, recently dropped by to donate a selection of blankets. They had belonged to someone they cared for who sadly passed away at the age of 100. Amy and Tina were so happy to have found a place where the blankets would benefit people who really needed them, they said this would have made their client really happy.

There is something special about the idea of making a lasting impact and changing lives even beyond the length of your own. We are grateful to the people who choose to leave a legacy of hope and remember our residents in their will. If this is an idea you would like to explore, please find out more via the link in our bio.

#legacy #legacyofhope #thankyou

We love going out and meeting supporters in our co

We love going out and meeting supporters in our community. Thank you so much to the schools, churches and local organisations who have invited us over recent weeks to speak about what we are doing to support people facing homelessness in the Winchester area.

Nicci, our Volunteer Administrator, is pictured here at King's Somborne WI.

If you run or attend a local organisation and you would like someone from The Winchester Beacon to pop in please do get in touch.

Our vision is to transform lives, inspire hope and

Our vision is to transform lives, inspire hope and end homelessness.

Our latest Annual Review highlights just some of the many ways we brought this vision to life with the help of our supporters during 2023-2024.

Printed copies of our Annual Review are available from our main site on Jewry Street or you can read it online via the link in our bio.

Would you like the opportunity to make an impact?

Would you like the opportunity to make an impact? We are looking for people who share our passion and commitment and want to join our board of trustees during an exciting time in our development.

Find out more about what we are looking for and how to apply via the link in our bio.

Last night, we came together with our supporters a

Last night, we came together with our supporters and local community to mark #WorldHomelessDay and to share stories, news and plans from The Winchester Beacon.

We were moved to see such a fantastic turn out for the event from both existing supporters and people curious to learn more about what we do.

We aim to inspire hope in our residents and our community, to be a beacon of hope. We chose hope as our focus last night, sharing inspiring stories from residents, volunteers and supporters.

Professor Nick Maguire from the Centre for Homelessness Research and Practice and the University of Southampton shared thought-provoking ideas around the importance of relentless compassion.

At the end of the evening, guests were invited to take away an iris bulb kindly donated by Hillier Garden Centre. Blue irises are believed to represent hope, faith and courage. We invited guests to join with us and symbolically plant hope for the future.

Thank you to The Arc, Winchester for hosting the event. Thank you to our supporter who kindly donated the food and drinks.

Thank you to everyone who came along, a current resident of ours who was in the audience said afterwards how touching it was to see so many people showing their support.

Photos by @lottiestevenson

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We’re winners of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service