CITIES are bustling with shoppers. Armed with festive purchases they hurriedly head for their destinations often oblivious to the homeless huddled in doorways with only a box or blanket for comfort.

Christmas is a celebration; an occasion for families and friends to get together so it is perhaps the most pertinent time of year to think of those who won't be spending it with their nearest and dearest.

For many, Christmas is another day out in the cold, without a roof over their head and while homelessness is a situation facing many throughout the year, it becomes all the more poignant during the season of festivities when that feeling of togetherness is all the more apparent.

With only two weeks to go before the big day, Bradford's Inn Churches, an initiative which provides accommodation within participating churches in the city for the homeless from December to March, is already experiencing increasing demand for its service.

According to Juli Thompson, project manager of Inn Churches and the charity's chief executive officer, their workload has already trebled in comparison to the same period last year.

"We are seeing a lot more people turned down for crisis awards and loans, people who are in short term desperate measures," says Juli.

She blames benefit changes for exacerbating the problem, and says while the local Government is extremely supportive of projects and initiatives such as Inn Churches, there is only so much they can do due to the cuts they are having to endure.

As well as providing a roof over the heads of those who would otherwise be sleeping rough on the city's streets, Inn Churches are also involved in the Warm Homes Healthy People scheme which launched this week.

The project, which is funded by the Department of Health, CCGs (Clinical Commissioning Groups) and the local council, receives practical support, food parcels, bedding and clothing which are distributed to those in need.

Ahead of the recent launch, the scheme had 24 referrals compared to the two or three they had before last year's launch and in respect of providing a roof over the homeless, Juli explains Inn Churches is currently running at full capacity.

"We've been running like that and we've only been opened two days. Usually the first week is pretty slow but we are full straight away," explains Juli.

She says there are many reasons why people become homeless. As well as benefit changes, they have also dealt with seven illegal evictions.

"Relationship breakdowns, that is the key," says Juli, referring to some of the situations they come across.

She says while many want to work factory jobs are no longer there. "Last year we had somebody who was a builder whose accommodation came with their job but they lost their job and lost their accommodation. We have had people who have been illegally evicted. It is no one-size-fits-all."

Some who seek accommodation do have drug or alcohol problems but of the people they are currently looking after, those account for only a small proportion.

Inn Churches currently has 680 volunteers helping to run the project. "We can be all doom and gloom but on the other side I am looking at stacks of bedding which has been donated; hats and scarves; people offering to help. Everybody is aware of what is happening and people are pitching in to do whatever they can to help."

Inn Churches, isn't the only project helping the homeless in the city and district. Bradford Nightstop, which has provided temporary accommodation for homeless young people across the district for 21 years, was the proud recipient of the Outstanding Contribution Award in the recent Telegraph & Argus Community Stars Awards organised in conjunction with Bradford Council.

And Hope Housing is another initiative taking positive steps to tackle the issue too. Adam Clark, the charity's chief executive, explains they recently increased their capacity at their Green Lane site. "We had an extra 10 beds at the beginning of November and it only took four days to take referrals over that extra. We have been running at more or less full capacity. We are surprised at how busy we are and where there is a lot of demand all the time. It is fairly constant."

While the majority of people who seek refuge there tend to be men, women do access homeless services too.

"It is heart-breaking. We are making plans for Christmas now and it is not going to be easy for people who are staying with us because as nice as we can make it it's not ideal when they are staying with us when people associate it (Christmas) with being with family. Our volunteers and staff are going out of their way to make it really nice for people but it is still not as nice as being sat with your family on Christmas Day."

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