Juian House faces its own crisis

[ Wera Hobhouse MP (L) with (from left) Julian House: Service Manager Sarah Barnes, Team Leader Rory Cozzolino, CEO Helen Bedser.]

Bath MP Wera Hobhouse has been hearing how the Julian House charity, which supports homeless people in the city, is facing an accommodation crisis of its own.

Julian House has been delivering an off-the-streets accommodation service at its Manvers Street hostel for people sleeping rough in Bath for close to 40 years. 

In the last year alone, it has provided 96,816 beds across all its services, supported 371 individuals who were sleeping rough to move on to more stable, secure accommodation, and supported 2,740 vulnerable people to begin their journey to independence and security.

The hostel itself has been at 115% capacity for the past year, with a waiting list. All 20 pods are full, with all available space given over to sleeping areas, even resorting to setting up ‘sit-up’  beds in the communal area, in order to meet demand.  

But Wera heard how their lease on the basement of Manvers Street Baptist Church will end in August 2026, and they are now in a race against time in negotiations with Bath and North EastSomerset (B&NES) Council to find a suitable replacement to ensure continuity of their vital service.

The city’s Lib-Dem MP has already written to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner, highlighting the success of Julian House, and urging her to commit to increased funding for councils and ring-fenced funding to combat homelessness.

Wera’s visit to the hostel enabled her to see for herself this success, and what is at stake. 

She heard an impassioned plea from Julian House Team Leader, Rory Cozzolino, previously homeless himself, who vividly described the commitment of the staff at Julian House to help transform, even save lives, in this very special place which provides warm, safe, welcoming and comfortable surroundings, along with dignity and a sense of hope, for its clients. “It does not bear thinking about what might happen if this is axed,” he said. 

 Helen Bedser,  Chief Executive of Julian House, explained: 

“At Julian House, we believe that everyone deserves a safe place to call home and the chance to build a better future. Each year, we support hundreds of people in Bath and North East Somerset who are facing crisis – whether they are sleeping rough, at risk of homelessness, living insecurely, or escaping domestic abuse.

“Like many organisations, we are feeling the impact of ongoing budget pressures, which are making it increasingly difficult to sustain the vital services that so many people rely on.

“The Off the Streets hostel on Manvers Street is the cornerstone of our efforts to offer safe, stable accommodation and a pathway to recovery for people sleeping rough in B&NES.  With the lease on our current premises coming to an end, we are urgently pursuing alternative locations to a tight deadline. We strongly urge the council to treat this as a matter of utmost priority and to work with us at pace to ensure that there is no gap in provision for those who rely on this essential support.”

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, commented: 

“Local authorities are being sold short by this government, with their budgets woefully inadequate to deliver on all their obligations to their communities. 

“I will continue to press the Secretary of State to ensure that B&NES and all councils are properly funded so that vital organisations like Julian House can continue to lift people out of homelessness and onto the safety and stability of their own roof over their heads. A basic human necessity that the rest of us take for granted.

“But factors like the cost of living crisis and family or relationship breakdown could push any one of us into this desperate position, and I sincerely hope that a local solution can be found so that Julian House can continue to look after those who have fallen into this vulnerable and distressing situation.”