A THIRD of the homeless people helped by Manchester mayor’s ‘A Bed Every Night’ project in Oldham are now permanently off the streets, it has been revealed.

The town hall is taking part in Andy Burnham's Greater Manchester initiative to make sure that the hundreds of rough sleepers across the region have a safe and secure place to sleep every night through the winter.

At a meeting of the full council this week, it was revealed that since launching on November 1, 30 people who are either homeless or at risk of homelessness in the borough have been helped by the scheme.

Cabinet member for housing, Councillor Hannah Roberts, told members that of those, 10 have been successfully moved into permanent – or ‘more permanent’ – accommodation.

She was responding to a question from Failsworth West councillor, Peter Davis.

He asked: “I work very closely with various sectors, housing, council, voluntary sectors on this and after some teething issues there seems to be some significant progress being made.

“And can I personally thank all because there are a lot of people in Oldham that have somewhere to sleep and have a wash of an evening.”

Cllr Roberts told councillors that a dedicated night shelter run by the charity DePaul has been set up at the Oldham fire station.

The shelter can house up to 10 men, and provide them with a bed, food and a hot shower.

Cllr Roberts said: “The opening was delayed by a few days to allow health and safety checks to be carried out but is now fully operational and is being well used.

“An average of nine men are sleeping there every night.”

“A local housing provider, Yale Housing, has also opened their town centre office as a daytime hub for people who are using the night shelter so they have somewhere to go during the day.”

Women sleeping rough can get support through the council’s existing housing schemes, and couples are being housed through bed and breakfasts.

“Feedback about the night shelter and the support offered has been positive,” Cllr Roberts added.

“I’m pleased to report that 10 people have already been successfully moved out of this temporary accommodation into permanent or more permanent accommodation, something that is more suitable in the long term.

“I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to the Mayor’s fund which has allowed us to put this shelter in place, and also thanking everyone who has contributed to making it successful so far.”

Oldham Mayor Javid Iqbal added: “I was at Yale Housing Association’s hub today and what a superb service they provide for the vulnerable people.

“They do really provide an exceptional service.”

The project will run until March across all 10 boroughs in Greater Manchester.