Emmanuel House’s Winter Shelter provides short-term emergency accommodation for people who are rough sleeping. Here is a story about a family of five who recently stayed with us.

A family of five adults arrived in the UK from Iraq, having been tricked into selling their land and all their possessions. They had been victims of trafficking and fraud. They were falsely led to believe they would be able to make a claim for EU migrant status and receive British citizenship when they arrived in the UK.

The family had been staying in a Nottinghamshire town, but when their funds ran out, they came to Nottingham. The police found them rough sleeping and took them to Nottingham City Council’s Housing Aid service. The family were then referred to Emmanuel House to seek further homelessness provisions, such as food, showers and clothes. Staff at Emmanuel House referred them internally to our Winter Shelter, where we provided emergency short-term accommodation.

They stayed at the Winter Shelter for eight weeks, whilst Emmanuel House’s shelter team worked in partnership with Migrant Help, the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Refugee Forum and the British Red Cross.

The family moved into Home Office accommodation, which enabled them to get further support with their asylum claim.

How does the Winter Shelter operate?

At the Winter Shelter, Emmanuel House offers short-term emergency accommodation for up to 27 people per night on the University of Nottingham’s University Park.

24-hour support is provided in an unused university building, ensuring there are fewer homeless people sleeping on the streets of Nottingham.

The Winter Shelter offers 24-hour access, which allows support work to continue during the day as guests are helped to find work, long-term accommodation, access to other services and three meals a day.