The Bus Shelter MK now houses Twenty One Guests

As we were welcoming our hundredth guest in March 2022, we started a pilot project to extend our capacity. We’ve offered nine bedrooms at George House in Stantonbury, the replacement for our original converted bus, since early 2021 and we are excited to now be able to provide a temporary home for up to 21 people who would otherwise be sleeping on the streets of Milton Keynes.

During 2022 three ‘move-on’ houses have been leased, providing a further 12 bedrooms. These houses offer an interim step for guests who may be excluded from a direct move into long-term, private rented accommodation, and will enable them to demonstrate a record as a good tenant to prospective future landlords. This will hopefully break down prejudices and increase the options available for securing an independent home in the future.

For guests who find the prospect too daunting the houses also provide an extension of the community and support enjoyed at George House and make the transition to independence less overwhelming.

The guests have been keen to get involved in setting up the houses and their help has been invaluable; everything from waiting in for deliveries and tackling the many boxes of flat pack furniture.

Thank you to everyone who has help us achieve so much with this project. It is a powerful incentive to hear from guests first-hand about the positive changes we make to their lives. To quote a guest from the first ‘move on’ house, “It is wonderful to have tomorrows … not just worries about today.”

We continue to receive many desperate calls, which is great motivation for us to consider acquiring further properties, either leasing or purchasing, so that we can help even more people each year.