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30
TheC
hron
icleMarch
28,20083
1Th
eCh
ronicle
March
28,2008
TH
EIS
SU
EEvery
week
weturn
thespotlighton
oneofthe
importantissues...........in
thecom
munity
As
volun
teersacross
Ch
eshire
takep
artin
the
Govern
men
t’sh
omelessn
esscou
nt,
RE
BE
CC
AE
DW
AR
DS
talksto
aform
errou
ghsleep
erab
out
how
her
lifetu
rned
aroun
dw
hen
she
becam
ea
mu
m
‘Iw
on’t
tellmy
littleb
oyab
out
lifeon
the
streets’
Don’tmiss
nextweek’sChronicleforafullreporton
theroughsle
epersheadcount
Lifehasdrastically
changed
for31-year-old
Kerry
inthelast
18months.
When
Th
eC
hron
iclefirst
featured
herstory
atthe
beginningof2007,sh
ehadjust
moved
intotheMileston
eshostel
onEgerton
Street,
Chester
afterfouryears
trappedinacity
housingvoid
thatleft
heronthestreets.
Iinterview
edherinastuffy
basementkitch
enandshetold
mehow
sheslept
ontheRows
untilshewaspistol-w
hipped
byadru
nk,thenmoved
toa
railwayarch
near
the
racecourse.
InFebru
ary,sheintrodu
cedmeprou
dlytoherfour-
month-old
sonandgave
mea
tourofhersmallbutcosy
housingtrustflat
inNewton.
“Theyoffered
metwoflats
butIchose
thisonebecau
seit
hasgot
alittle
garden,so
I’vegot
tofindalaw
nmowersoon
,”shesaid.
Sheadds
with
asmile:“I
never
thoughtI’dbetalk
ing
aboutgettin
galaw
nmower.”
Kerry
grewupinNewtow
nandwenttoKingsw
ayHigh
School
where
shegot
Bsand
CsinherGCSEsandaGNVQ.
Shefell
intohomelessn
essafter
takingparen
talrespon
s-ibility
forher10-year-old
brotherwhenshewas24.
Unable
tocope,sh
eturnedto
drink,herbroth
erwastaken
intocare
andshewasevicted.
Curren
tly,Chester
hasno
emergen
cybeds
forwomen
foundrou
ghsleepin
gso
Kerry’s
then-boyfrien
dwas
givenahostel
place,butshe
wasturnedaway.
Charity
workers
inChester
expressimmensefrustration
thattheycan
providegood
facilitiesfor
menbutoften
the
besttheycan
dofor
awoman
isgive
herasleepin
gbag
and
pointhertow
ardtheRows.
Capital
fundinghasnow
beensecu
redfor
asix-bed
women’s
hostel
inBlacon
butfunding
forservices
andstaff
muststill
befoundandthehostel
isunlikely
toopen
beforenext
April.WhenItell
Kerry
aboutthe
plannedhostel,sh
esays:“I’m
pleasedtheyare
finally
doing
somethingbutithastaken
toolong.M
aybeifIhadbeen
givenachancetoget
offthestreets
earlierIwouldn’thave
stayedthere
solong.”
Kerry
talksalm
ostfondly
abouthertim
eonthestreets,
butadm
itsthatshegot
too
accustom
edtothewayoflife.
Shesaid:“I
suppose
Idid
choose
tostay
afterawhile.
Youget
toknow
people,Ihad
justlost
mybroth
erandIwas
lonely.
“Thetim
eflew
andIrealised
Iwouldendupdead
orinjail.
Youget
toacertain
pointand
realiseyou
have
toget
out.”
Shewas“overjoyed”
tofind
outshewaspregn
antlast
March
becausedoctors
saidherdrin
kinghabit
mighthave
stoppedhercon
ceiving.
Shemoved
into
accommodation
forhomeless
families
duringherpregn
ancy
andwasgiven
herflat
inDecem
berwhenherbaby
was
onemonthold.
Workers
fromChester
Aidto
theHomeless
gavehernappies
andfurnitureandstill
visitherregu
larly.Shesays:“W
henyou
areon
thestreets
youfeel
invisible,Ifeel
norm
alagain
now.
“Whenyou
arehomeless
youdon
’tpay
attention
tothe
norm
alpeople
inthestreet,it
islike
theyare
inyou
rfron
troom
,youfeel
likethestreets
belongtoyou
.“Sittin
gatthebusstop
lastnightlook
ingatthepeople
aroundme,I
couldpick
outthe
homeless
peopleamileoff.I
realisedthatishow
theymust
have
lookedatme.
“Myold
neigh
boursfrom
Newtow
nandmyfrien
dsfrom
school
willspeak
tomeagain
now.Youdon
’trealise
how
manypeople
don’tspeak
toyou
whenyou
arehomeless.
“Awomanyesterday
put£5in
mybaby’s
hand,so
Ihave
put
thatinhistrustfundfor
his
future.”
Sheadds:“I
stillgotoAqua
Housefor
rehabandtheywere
worried
Imightgoback
todrin
kingbutIhaven
’teven
thoughtabou
tit–Idon
’thave
time.M
yhealth
visitorcou
ldn’tbelieve
Ihadbeen
onthestreets.
“There
aresom
egirls
onthe
streetswhoget
pregnantand
carryontakingdru
gs.Ican
’tstan
dthat–whywouldyou
do
thattoyou
rbaby?”
Kerry
hopes
towork
ina
hostel
whenherson
isolder,
butfor
now
wantstomake
the
most
ofbein
gwith
him.
Sheadds:“I
won’ttell
him
anythingabou
tbein
gonthe
streets,Idon
’twanthimto
know
aboutwhathappen
edthere.“Myboyfrien
dwantshimto
beafootballer
butIwon’t
pressurise
him,Ijustwant
himtoknow
rightfrom
wron
gandbehappy.”
LIFECHANGES:Kerry,w
hodid
notwantto
benam
edor
pictured,saysher
lifehas
beentransform
edbythe
birthof
herbaby
soninNovem
ber.
STREETSCENE:Theofficialrough
sleepershead
counttookplace
onThursday
acrossCheshire.
Seenextw
eek’sC
hroniclefor
areporton
howthe
countiscarried
outandwhatitshow
ed.JP020306V
AGRANTS
“IrealisedIwould
endupdead
orin
jail.Yougetto
acertain
pointandrealise
youhave
gottogetout.”
KERRY,31
Nigh
tshelter
givenfundsboost
EXTRAfundingfor
ahome-
lessfacility
inChester
has
beenannounced.
Crispin
House
emergen
cynightshelter
inNicholas
Streethas
beenawarded
£55,000through
thePlaces
ofChange
programme.
Thehostel
isrunbyChester
AidtotheHomeless
(Cath)char-
ityandcan
houseuptoeigh
tmen.
Themoney,w
hich
isgiven
out
bytheDepartm
entofCom-
munities
andLocal
Govern
-ment,willbeused
toupgrade
hostel
dormitories
intosingle
roomsanddevelop
existing
medical
facilitiesalon
gwith
education
andtrain
ing.
Theidea
ofthegran
tisto
transform
hostels
into“notjust
aplace
forthenight,bu
taplace
backintotheworld
ofwork.”
Chester
CityCouncilP
rincipal
HousingOfficer
PaulSim
psonsaid:“O
neofth
emain
problems
atthehostel
wasthatintwo
roomsthere
were
three
bedswhich
didn’tgive
peopletheir
ownspace.
“Thisgran
twillenable
usto
extendthefacilities
inthose
bedrooms.”
Chief
Execu
tiveof
Cath,
Robert
Bisset,
added:“If
youasked
anadu
ltinthemain-
streamcom
munity
toshare
aroom
with
astran
gerthey
wouldrefu
se,soIbelieve
itis
justandproper
thatmoneyis
spenton
thehostelto
givepeople
individu
alsleepin
gspaces
that
wewouldallexpect
ourselves.”
Work
isexpected
tostart
this
year.Thehostelgran
tcom
esweeks
afterfundingwasannounced
forasix-bed
women’s
hostel
inBlacon
.Curren
tlythere
arenoemer-
gency
bedsfor
women
inCheshire.
Chester
City
Council
recog-nised
theneed
foradirect-access
women’s
hostelin
itsHomeless-
ness
Strategyfor
2003-08but
missed
itspledge
toestablish
the
facilityby2005.
Now
asuitable
sitefor
wo-
men’s
serviceshasbeen
iden-
tifiedinBlacon
Avenu
eandini-
tialfundinghasbeen
providedbyMuirHousingAssociation
.Thecentre
islikely
tobeup
andrunningbyApril2009.
GOINGGREEN:Chester
Catholic
High
Schoolstudent
Bronw
ynO’Neill,prize
winner
inarecentcom
petitionto
designagreen
leafletandrunners
upCallum
Boyd,
Samantha
Jonesand
Erick
Bannerm
an.TC140308design-003 P
up
ilsgo
greenat
school
ACHESTERCatholicHigh
Schoolstudentis
encouragingher
classm
ates
tothinkof
green
erwaystogetto
school.
Year9studentBronwyn
O’Neill
wonacompetitio
ntodesig
naleaflet
toencouragegreen
transport
andahealthylifesty
le.Her
prize
wasaNinten
doWii
andrunners
upCallum
Boyd,Year8,Samantha
Jones,
Year7andErick
Bannerm
an,Year9,all
receivedcashprizes.
Theprizes
were
bought
with
moneyraised
from
recyclin
gmobilephones.
Thesch
ool’sthriving
eco-tea
mencouraged
studentstobringina
disused
phoneinretu
rnforwearingtheir
own
clothesfortheday.
Thecompetitio
nwas
organised
byteacherTony
Crew
e,thesch
ool’s
environmentaleducation
coordinator.
Saturday
29thM
arch