Opening of New Hostel to Help Newcastle’s Homeless

Homelessness in Newcastle has been  tackled  with the help of ex Toon hero Peter Beardsley.

On 3rd April Peter officially opened a new hostel in Byker  which offers a safe home for more vulnerable people living on the streets.

Providing 31 new rooms, Byker Bridge House is the first and only en-suite hostel in the region with wheelchair and mobility access, eco friendly systems and sophisticated safety measures.

The hostel has one en-suite double room for a wheelchair user and five mobility standard en-suite rooms to cater for disabled guests.

The original Byker Bridge House  has been ‘home’ to 1144 people since it opened in 1995 but over 5500 people have had to be turned away over that time, as all the beds were full. The new hostel has 9 more beds per night but there is still a major demand for beds in the area.

The building itself is very environmentally friendly. It has a solar panel to heat hot water to the kitchen, low energy lighting which activates with movement only and a smart-card system entry key.

Chief Executive, Maurice Condie  said: “We are delighted that we have been able to replace our previous hostel which was in major need of renovation. We have 9 more beds here and purpose built facilities which means we can help more vulnerable and homeless people in the region.

“Energy saving systems and a smart security system is also in place. CCTV covers the interior and exterior to improve community safety, sophisticated lone-working staff alarms are installed across all floors and a card entry system allows areas of the building to be zoned for use by women and vulnerable people”.

At the official opening Peter Beardsley said: “I am delighted to be here today to help such a worthy cause. I have been a supporter of Byker Bridge Housing Association for a few years now because charities like this have an extremely hard job to do and do this on very limited funds.

There is a homeless problem in the region and I hope as many people as possible will help Byker Bridge by giving donations of anything from clothes and toiletries to cash”