A HOSTEL which helps homeless men back into independent accommodation opened its doors to the public yesterday.

Culvery Court, run by the charity Threshold, offers emergency direct-access rooms for single men in Swindon and also help them to break the cycle of homelessness.

Yesterday, as part of Poverty and Homelessness Action Week, people has a unique chance to tour the hostel in Harding Street and speak to the staff and residents.

Phil Smith, operations director, said: “Culvery Court is the direct access hostel for Swindon and this means that people can come in and there’s no time limit to them directly addressing the issues.

“The overall aim of the open day was to open up our project, let people come in, and make more links with the communities.

“In this day and age, with reducing funding, we really need to bring the community along with Threshold. We need to increase our membership, recruit trustees and also market ourselves because we really need our fundraising to be at a much greater capacity.”

Threshold, funded largely through grants from Swindon Council, runs eight projects across Swindon providing a total of about 50 rooms for homeless people.

Each project provides accommodation dedicated to people with specific needs, such as substance misuse.

Culvery Court, the largest project, has 20 direct access emergency rooms for homeless men aged 16 and over.

For the cost of just £30 a week, residents are provided with full accommodation, including breakfast and lunch, and also have use of the day room, kitchettes and other facilities.

Residents are paired up with a key worker, who helps them to understand the reasons for their homelessness, often signposting them to other agencies, to put them on the track to independent living.

Anwar Chema, 25, who has been at Culvery Court for about seven weeks, said: “For the time being, it’s the best situation, it’s much better than sleeping outside.

“You have got to follow their rules in Culvery Court and then they help you to get a flat in the future.”

A 40-year-old Swindon resident, who did not want to be named, said: “It’s a godsend to me because without it I would literally be on the street in a couple of cardboard boxes.”

Threshold also runs other projects, including a street outreach service, which sees trained workers go out to meet those sleeping rough to talk to them and get them into hostel accommodation.

For more information, visit www.thl.org.uk