The Bridge (East Midlands) to move to new drop-in hub model

The Bridge (East Midlands), a leading regional charity supporting homeless and vulnerably-housed people, is moving away from its long-term home in Loughborough to a new satellite hub model of locations across Leicestershire.

From 1 March 2022, the charity will no longer be located at 38 Leicester Road, Loughborough, its main office since October 2006, and will relocate to a developing community hub model, with the charity’s updated postal address being John Storer House, Ward's End, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3HA. Anyone who requires support should, in the first instance, contact the free phone number 0800 038 5964. Frequent updates will be made in the coming months with details of drop-in venues across the county.

The changes demanded by the pandemic have seen a different way of working for many, no less by charities, and the vital support work of The Bridge (East Midlands) has evolved to be a hybrid version of in-person, over the phone and online assistance.

Access is also progressing to meet this hybrid demand, with information always available online and at your fingertips. The Bridge (East Midlands) is responding to the current needs of the community, by enhancing its online presence to ensure a constant hub of support; with all the information that clients, professionals and donors require - constantly accessible 24/7, as crises don’t always happen during the 9-5 working day.

The charity’s physical presence will now be enhanced through the development of an exciting and collaborative hub working model, where The Bridge (East Midlands) will have smaller hub drop–in locations across Leicestershire. This will allow its vital services to be more accessible than ever, and to more vulnerable communities.

The Bridge (East Midlands) would like to invite any collaborations with local businesses to host one of its inspiring hubs to serve as a basis for a strong local community where individuals thrive in safe and secure homes. For more information, please contact [email protected] or telephone 01509 260500.

Sue Langley, Chief Executive at The Bridge (East Midlands) said: “38 Leicester Road has been a huge part of our organisation for 15 ½ years. However, we must ensure that our resources are diverted to our ‘on the ground services’ which better meet the needs of our clients. Throughout the pandemic, it has become more evident that having just one head office is no longer sufficient.’’

“This new working model of setting up community hubs will get help to the most complex cases quicker, reduce the number of crises for those people, and better support their ability to get, and sustain independent homes. With the impending and increasing cost of living crisis, we are going to be needed on the ground more than ever.”

The Bridge (East Midlands) saw a further increase of 11% in referrals for their services in 2021 (compared to 2020, which was 15% higher than 2019). With this demand only expected to rise even further in response to post pandemic effects and the cost-of-living surge, the charity’s vital and often lifesaving response through housing related advice, support, assistance, welfare and services to prevent or relieve homelessness will be more needed than ever, and this new working model will mean greater accessibility to life changing services.