Dining bid to help the homeless (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Dining bid to help the homeless

A CHARITY for the homeless is hoping diners at Cirencester restaurants will tuck into a fundraising scheme and serve them up a financial lifeline.

Cirencester Housing for Young People (CHYP), which provides accommodation for people aged 16 to 25, faces a cash crisis due to a cut in Government grants.

The organisation now urgently needs to raise £30,000 so it can continue to provide round-the-clock support for its vulnerable tenants.

And local councillor Richard Graham has come up with a novel idea, which he hopes local restaurateurs will support.

The Tory member, who has previously raised money for CHYP with his own charity efforts, wants diners to pay an extra £1 on top of their meal bills, which will then go in to CHYP's own coffers.

He raised the idea at a meeting of Cotswold District Council on Tuesday and plans to hold talks with CHYP officials and local eateries.

He said: "I'm sure people who are spending £16 or £17 anyway won't mind if an extra £1 is added on.

"It's easy to whinge about the Government money but it's important for the community to back this.

"We need to contact the owners and managers of restaurants, who would then ask all the people who are dining if they would mind £1 added onto their bill."

CHYP, which was formed in 1986, can provide accommodation for up to 14 young people at its two hostels in Ashcroft Road and Querns Lane.

It receives money from various bodies, including CDC, Gloucestershire County Council, church trusts and a wide variety of fundraising initiatives.

However, the Government-backed Supporting People initiative, which provides two-thirds of CHYP's funding, is facing drastic cuts over the next few years.

This is already having a knock-on effect, with CHYP's most recent allocation being reduced from £145,000 to £117,000.

Unless the organisation can plug the gap, managers fear it may have to do away with overnight supervision and support for its tenants

CHYP's liaison officer Andrew Coles said: "We're going to have to find other means of providing the service.

"We've lobbied the various councils and have had encouraging support. The MPs in Gloucestershire have been written to as well.

"I think it's (Cllr Graham's scheme) an excellent idea. It will broaden awareness of what we do as well."