Member Article

Lotus Sanctuary expands with 600 more beds to tackle homelessness

Lotus Sanctuary CIC, the community interest company specialising in housing and empowering those who are facing homelessness, has expanded its services by 600 more beds in the UK.

The organisation which recently celebrated its third birthday, provides transitional supported housing and has helped over 1,000 vulnerable people since its inception. Lotus Sanctuary will gain a further 600 beds for services in different sites across the UK, allowing the organisation to reach more vulnerable people.

The development marks the largest number of beds under Lotus Sanctuary’s control since the community interest company was founded in 2018. The news follows Lotus Sanctuary recently opening a 35-bed site in Cheltenham and a 29-home site in Sunderland, as part of the company’s ambitious plan to offer 10,000 beds nationally by 2023. Other sites include Middlesbrough, Preston, Black Country, London (N4 & NW10), Manchester & Leeds.

When speaking about the growth, Lotus Sanctuary CEO Gurpaal Singh Judge said: “We are delighted we are able to further expand our services by providing 600 more this coming winter. The easing of pandemic restrictions have provided something of a perfect storm for our services. With the end of furlough, the recent gas price rises and the end of the universal credit uplift, it’s more important than ever that our services can continue to grow to meet the essential needs of the people we help.”

The founder and CEO Gurpaal Singh Judge is on a mission to house and empower vulnerable people facing homelessness. His story started in 2018 when he was volunteering at a homeless shelter and met a woman who was undergoing a medical detox from alcohol. She was not able to go into a women’s rescue until she had been sober for six weeks and therefore had nowhere to go. Realising there weren’t sufficient services for vulnerable women, the idea of Lotus Sanctuary was born. Now Lotus aims to help all those who are facing homelessness.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Nathan Stennett .