A homelessness charity has launched its second drop-in service for people to talk about alcohol and substance use.

Worcestershire's Maggs Day Centre has opened a Harm Reduction service every Wednesday at Caring Hands-in-the Vale in Evesham.

This service will run every Wednesday, welcoming people to discuss their alcohol and substance use in a safe space.

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The service extends its support beyond those experiencing homelessness, and offers clean works, Naloxone provision and training, BBV testing, and an open ear for anyone dealing with alcohol and substance issues.

Jenny Pengelly, a Harm Reduction Worker at the charity, said: "I am delighted to announce that we’re offering a weekly drop-in at the Caring Hands in Evesham.

"This allows us to offer service users a safe place to utilise the harm reduction services, but even if it’s just a safe place to come for a simple chat, this can make all the difference."

She added: "The team at Caring Hands in the Vale have always been so supportive of Maggs.

"As two neighbouring organisations, we’re usually both helping those who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or just need a friendly face for a chat, and together we can strengthen our support by offer a wider range of solutions to help those in need to take the next step.”

Diane Bennett, of Caring Hands in the Vale, said: "We’re really excited to welcome the Maggs team to The Lighthouse every week.

"This widens our support network that we already offer in our health and wellbeing hub and we’re really keen to ensure that Caring Hands helps as many people as we can, especially during such difficult times.”

She added: "We have no doubt that the team will do great things in building trust and engagement with people to help with address substance misuse and any health-related issue associated with substances and we look forward to seeing their positive impact.”

The charity works across Worcestershire, with day centres in Worcester and Malvern.

They run multiple specialist services, including an outreach team, a team providing intensive transition support for complex needs, and the Harm Reduction team.