In November, It Takes A City celebrated the re-opening of Crossways as Emergency Winter Accommodation for 20 rough sleepers in Cambridge. This will be the fifth year we have run the project. Although the provision looks very similar to previous years there has been a big change!

We were thrilled to sign a long-term lease to rent the Crossways building. We have applied for and successfully gained planning consent for use all year round to accommodate people experiencing homelessness. But one of the essential conditions attached to the planning consent was that we must build a bike shelter capable of holding six bicycles securely, just like the one pictured.

We need to have it on site within 3 months. Whilst we agree that having the shelter available for residents, volunteers and staff to use will be a great addition, we hadn’t budgeted for this in our plans, and it is going to cost about £3,000 including installation.

We are embarking on work to turn the courtyard, where the shelter will be located, into a relaxing space for our residents to enjoy, so any money left over would be used to develop the space. We have seen how therapeutic gardening can be for our residents.

We’re reaching out to our amazing community of supporters to ask if you would consider donating via this dedicated Just Giving page.

Your support will mean the world to us, and we thank you in advance for your generosity!