A homelessness charity in Chichester is to benefit from an annual grant of £45,000 from the district council.
Stonepillow has been helping the homeless in the district since 1989, founded following the death of a young man called Scotty.
During a meeting on Tuesday (January 6), members of the cabinet approved the grant for the next four years to help pay for the day centre, which operates from premises next to St Cyriac’s car park.
The current three-year arrangement for around £37,000 per year is coming to an end and the new grant will start in April.
Tracie Bangert, cabinet member for communities & wellbeing, said the cost of delivering the service had ‘significantly increased’. Expenditure in 2026/27 is expected to be around £241,000 – 38 per cent higher than costs in 2023/24.
The grant was fully supported by all cabinet members, who stressed the importance of Stonepillow’s work.
Harsha Desai (Lib Dem, Petworth) described how she had spoken to homeless people outside HSBC and Tesco on New Year’s Eve and guided them to the services available.
And John Cross spoke about people in rural areas ‘falling through the cracks’ as they are having to sleep in their cars, so their situation is not so obvious.
It was pointed out by Jonathan Brown (Lib Dem, Chichester North) that not all homeless people were willing to accept help.
While acknowledging this, Ms Bangert said: “They might not want to stay anywhere in particular but they will use the day centre, and that’s what this is for. They’ll come in for food and for drink, and that’s essential.”
Leader Adrian Moss said: “The support that Chichester District Council gives Stonepillow is really important for the day centre, which looks after a lot of people when they are living really challenging lives.”
For more information about Stonepillow and the help it can offer, log on to stonepillow.org.uk .
