Council ‘didn’t look favourably’ on lifeline for East European migrants - Salvation Army close Rochester Row Day Centre despite appeals

Published: 15 October 2010
by JOSH LOEB

A CHARITY closed one of Westminster’s “lifeline” homeless day centres despite experts advising them to keep it open, an independent report has revealed.

The Rochester Row Day Centre in Victoria – which was run by The Salvation Army – organised food handouts, soup kitchens, Jobcentre Plus sessions and alcohol support groups, largely for Eastern European migrants who are ineligible to attend centres elsewhere.

It closed last month to the dismay of volunteers working with homeless people.

At the time The Salvation Army said they had taken the decision because the centre was “duplicating services already provided nearby”. But it has now emerged that an independent audit not only recommended that Rochester Row remain open but concluded that it was offering services that were “very different” from those at neighbouring centres.

The report, commissioned by the Salvation Army and written by Brent Homeless User Group (BHUG), also reveals that City Hall was strongly opposed to the centre.

It said: “The council does not look favourably upon Rochester Row. Although the Rough Sleeping Unit at City Hall are unclear about what services the centre offers or who uses them, the Unit’s position is that the centre should cease providing services to rough sleepers altogether.”

The majority of Rochester Row’s users were Polish, Slovakian, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals – who are allowed to come to the UK but are barred from accessing public funds or services.

Large numbers of Eastern Europeans arrive at the international coach station in Victoria each year in the hope of finding a better life but end up on the streets. The council has had a longstanding policy of helping homeless Eastern Europeans return home – but critics say they are increasingly cracking down on soup runs as these are viewed as encouraging the problem.

Lidija Mavra, a volunteer with Sock Mob, a group that works with homeless people in Covent Garden, said: “Westminster Council thinks soup runs provide an incentive for people to remain homeless, but they are an emergency measure for an emergency situation. Giving someone a sandwich or a pair of socks is not a good enough incentive for them to remain in what is a very dangerous and unstable situation.”

Richard Burdett, who edits The Pavement – a Bloomsbury-based magazine about rough sleepers – said homeless charities who “weren’t singing from the same hymn sheet” as City Hall were viewed in a negative light by the council.

Major Julian Watchorn, assistant director of homelessness services for The Salvation Army, said: “We are mindful that there are individuals for whom Rochester Row was their preferred support option, however the review and local authority have noted there are alternatives available.”

Cllr Daniel Astaire, Westminster Council's cabinet member for society, families and adult services, said: “We are assisting Eastern European nationals – who have no recourse to public funds or services – to either improve their chances of finding work or to return home if they are unable to find a job. 

“If they are still on the streets, returning home is really the best possible option to enable them to start rebuilding their life.”