Crisis £2.5m centre for Birmingham's homeless

The Birmingham Post reports that Crisis planning £2.5m centre for Birmingham homeless with the charity Crisis earmarking a building in Digbeth to transform into a Skylight centre, an education and skills centre, aiming to get homeless people off the streets and into employment.

The centre which would not provide residential beds could open next year alongside another centre in Oxford to compliment Crisis' existing centres in London and Newcastle.

Crisis chief executive Leslie Morphy said the hub would provide long-term solutions for people sleeping rough or in danger of being forced on to the streets. The charity said that its figures showed that at least 138 people had been forced to sleep rough in Birmingham last year, despite government numbers claiming that just six people were living on the street in the city.

http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-news/2009/03/23/crisis-planning-2-5m-centre-for-birmingham-homeless-65233-23208097/

Crisis hopes to secure the leasehold on the building in Digbeth within weeks with the redevelopment taking approximately 18 months.