At our A Bed Every Night (ABEN) accommodation for people sleeping rough in Oldham, service manager Kerry and her team have been quietly but significantly moving those sleeping on the streets into longer term accommodation – The latest data, from summer 2025, shows that 72% of people successfully moved on from ABEN to supported accommodation or the private rented sector. Read her Q&A.
A Bed Every Night (ABEN) is a multi-agency approach, set up by Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, in 2018, with the aim of linking outreach workers – those who find and report people sleeping rough – with accommodation and support services that can get them off the streets and into longer-term housing. Here at ABEN in Oldham, we have 18 rooms, and we’ll take everyone no matter what their circumstances including couples and dogs. I’m really proud to say that almost 72% of the people who come through ABEN leave to go into their own accommodation, rather than returning to the streets.
All kinds of people end up here – people struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, or with complex trauma, women who have been in abusive relationships, to men who have lost everything when their relationships have broken down. And sometimes people struggling with bereavement who just can’t cope with ordinary life.
The funny thing is you might think that all these people living under one roof would be a bit of a challenge but believe it or not it works. There’s kind of a community amongst people who sleep rough, most know each other from the streets or soup kitchens, and if there is a disagreement, they all know I won’t tolerate it. I’ll treat everyone with respect, and I’ll make sure we do what we promise to do, but ultimately, we expect that respect back in return, and for the most part they really do.
Every resident gets their own room. We’ve also got a communal area with a sofa and TV, and a brewing station with tea and coffee that gives people a reason to come down and speak to other people and means they’re less isolated. We also provide each resident with support to find housing and maximise their benefits. And if they’re open to it, Turning Point, a local drug and alcohol service, visit every Tuesday to support people struggling with addiction. For those with addiction and mental health issues we have access to a fantastic dual diagnosis nurse. Recently, Specsavers have agreed to come in to do hearing and eye tests too, which is great.
We have an average stay target of 90-days, but we tend to move most people on within about 87 days. As part of the multi-agency support our residents get access to a Move-on Support Officer from the council. We’ll make sure they have their benefits in place, valid ID and bank statements, and the Move-on Support Officer will register people for rehousing and if needed, refer them into supported accommodation.
Well, we’ve got 67-year-old Clive, who is staying with us at the moment. He came in a couple of weeks ago after being on the street for about a week. He’d worked all his life, lived in a private rented flat, but he’d been struggling to pay for it on his state pension. Eventually, facing eviction under Section 21, he didn’t know what else to do or who to turn to so he just left the flat one day, and all his belongings in it (because he couldn’t carry them), and hit the streets.
When he arrived, I noticed straight away that he kept asking me to repeat stuff, and so I said ‘Clive, I notice you’ve got a hearing aid, does it work?’ and it turned out he hadn’t even got a battery in it. Well, we sorted that out, then we sent him for eye tests, managed to maximise his benefits, and we’ve applied for attendance allowance because he lives with a chronic condition as well. He’s even signed up to our digital inclusion course so that he can learn how to buy his hearing aid batteries online, isn’t that great. I am so pleased that Clive has now been offered a property by a social landlord and will be moving into his own home very soon.
I think a culture of reasonableness, if that doesn’t sound too cheesy. You know, when people are on the streets, they get dismissed and belittled. To me, it’s important to see everyone as deserving of respect and I try to understand the reason behind the behaviour. You know I am very big on doing what we say we’ll do. We’ll be kind, honest, respectful, and deliver what we promise, but we also expect our residents to meet us halfway – they’re part of the process too and we’re very clear about that. When I see people transition and come out at the other end, I know it’s all been worth it.