A ‘life-changing’ Manchester homelessness centre which welcomes scores of people each day is celebrating three decades of work.
The Booth Centre, in Cheetham Hill, is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with events planned for each month.
Based on Pimblett Street, the Centre first opened its doors at Manchester Cathedral in 1995 with one worker and one volunteer. Now with 19 members of staff and up to 40 regular volunteers, the charity has since gone on to be a staple of help in the area for those who have needed it most.
Deputy CEO of the Booth Centre, Kate McSweeney, said part of the charity’s successes over the years has come down to prioritising, “being a community.”
She said: “Everything we do, we do with volunteers and people in our community. We pride ourselves on that. We’re always around tables, asking people what they need and what they want.
“Small charities always struggle in one respect, you’re never in a kind of secure place. The cost of living crisis and Covid recently has meant it’s always a constant struggle for funding.
“Across Manchester there are quite a few services that have been here a long time, which I think obviously is down to how much support is needed. But I think it also speaks of how well people work together here at the Centre, that we’ve managed to stay open for this long.”
Over the three decades that have passed since their doors first opened, the Booth Centre has welcomed people from all across the world. In 2024 alone, they welcomed over 140 different nationalities.
Someone who has benefited from the centre’s work is volunteer Bartek, who dubbed the charity as ‘life-changing’ after initially attending as a service user.
He said: “My life before coming to the centre was rubbish. I had just come out of prison, and had found out about the centre from the probation service. Before I came, I was a little afraid as I didn’t know what to expect.
“But the second I opened the door, everyone was so welcome, and I was buzzing straight away, so I asked about volunteering. It’s been amazing for my mental health being around good people.
“Sometimes when I was stuck at home, I was thinking that I’m not going to get through this. But when I come to the centre and cook for happy faces, that’s worth more than money.
“No matter what I’ve been going through, I come here and I’m lifted up.”
Kate continued to voice the centre’s acceptance for anyone who is in need of help, saying they will always have an “open door policy”.
“Anyone who shows up, we will help them in some way,” she added. “Anyone who is in need across Manchester, who is in a state of poverty, crisis or homelessness, we will support and work with however they need us. And we’ll still be here when things are better, to come and chat or volunteer.
“We open our doors first thing in the morning, and everything we provide is free. Breakfast and lunch is covered every day, and anyone who comes will also have the offer of help with their mental health, without a need to have a referral or wait months to be seen by someone.
“You can go to some places and they’ll offer you to fill a form out and gets answers to something you need and then you’re away, but here people are coming in and building their own network and support system beyond the help of a staff member, so that when they leave here they’ve still got something. A lot of people that we see here, will leave and not speak to anyone else until the next morning when they’re back, which can be a lot for anyone.”
The charity regularly welcomes 110 people a day on average, which can spike up to 150 people depending on the weather.
Paul Newcombe, CEO of the Booth Centre, noted that those who come to the door act as a reflection for ongoing worldwide struggles.
He said: “It’s strange, because services like this, particularly over 30 years, become a vessel for not just what is going on locally or nationally but all across the world. It’s incredible. Where there’s trouble in the world, you can almost count that in six months time you’ll see a reflection of that at our doors.
“We used to see around 40 percent of people coming from an Eastern European country due to the employment rights they have there, but that has all changed now, and we’re seeing a lot more people from North Africa and the Middle East now.”
If you would like to find out more about the Booth Centre or donate to their cause, you can find their page here – https://www.boothcentre.org.uk/about-the-booth-centre.html