Brighouse charity supporting the homeless forced to close

Brighouse And Surrounding Homeless will close at the end of the month as it has been unable to secure grant funding despite many applications being made for this much needed local support service.

In a statement from the charity they said: “It is with deep regret that we (the Founder & Trustees of Brighouse And Surrounding Homeless, BASH Local) have to announce the charity will close as of November 30, 2017.

“However we are hoping that the Food Bank will be able to continue as a true legacy of the hard work over the past 2 years, with the continued support of the volunteers who have manned it from its inception.

BASH Local was founded by Alison Mitchell two years ago as she saw there was a need to support the vulnerable and homeless people of Brighouse & the surrounding areas.

In the two years, BASH Local has helped over 150 people on the streets, supported 87 people through drop in sessions and the food bank has helped hundreds of people.

With the help of Saint-Gobain, a shipping container was recently converted into a safe and insulated pod for the homeless to use. The intention is that this will still be used by another charity to support the homeless.

The work the charity has done has also been recognised by businesses in Brighouse.

Jessica Reynard, Tesco Brighouse Store Manager said: “Over the past 16 months at Brighouse as the store manager at Tesco I have loved working with BASH. Alison, Rebecca and the team have been fantastic and during this time we have built a great relationship to help support the Brighouse community.

“I would like to thank them for letting us play a part in their projects & fundraising. I am proud that we have been lucky enough to get involved with an amazing charity.”

Also Steve Brown, store manager, Sainsbury’s Brighouse added: “It has been a real pleasure working with Alison, Rebecca and the BASH team.

“They have done a fabulous job in helping the vulnerable people of Brighouse and I am proud to say that we were able to help in the work they have done for the Brighouse community.

“The fantastic legacy that everyone involved with BASH leave behind is testament to all their hard work over the years.”

Alison and the Trustees would like to thank all those who have supported BASH or donated time, money or food.