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04/11/2019
Shock As Vehicle Rammed On Homeless Charity Building
A building operated by a homeless charity in Belfast has been damaged by a vehicle rammed through its front.
Police are seeking witnesses to the incident at the Welcome Organisation on Townsend Street at roughly 12.45am this morning, Monday 04 November.
The centre provides life-saving services to the homeless population in Belfast.
A spokesperson said: "We are shocked by the extent of the damage caused to our homeless Drop-in Centre after last night's incident. We are approaching winter, the most challenging season for homeless people and without the Drop-in Centre many of our most vulnerable service users would be at even higher risk than they already are."
Despite the damage, the centre remains open from 8am to 10pm each day and will continue to provide access to food, showers, laundry facilities and advice services to the homeless population of Belfast.
Staff offered reassurances to the public, particularly those who depend on their services, that business will continue as normal.
"Our 24 hour winter outreach programme will also continue to operate as normal," the spokesperson explained. "Our Outreach service will be out on the streets of Belfast 24 hours a day and our 2nd Outreach Van will also be operating from 8pm - 8am.
"The Outreach Teams will provide support to homeless people and rough sleepers and the 2nd van will enable us to cover the whole of the Belfast area and not just the city centre.
"We plan to have the damage to the Drop-in repaired by Christmas and we will continue with our preparations to give the homeless people of Belfast a warm, safe and festive Christmas.
"We would like to thank the public for your continued and vital support without which we couldn't deliver the level of services we do for people affected by homelessness in Belfast."
Anyone with information on the damage caused to the facility is encouraged to submit relevant details to police via 101 with reference 47 of 04/11/19.
(JG/CM)
Police are seeking witnesses to the incident at the Welcome Organisation on Townsend Street at roughly 12.45am this morning, Monday 04 November.
The centre provides life-saving services to the homeless population in Belfast.
A spokesperson said: "We are shocked by the extent of the damage caused to our homeless Drop-in Centre after last night's incident. We are approaching winter, the most challenging season for homeless people and without the Drop-in Centre many of our most vulnerable service users would be at even higher risk than they already are."
Despite the damage, the centre remains open from 8am to 10pm each day and will continue to provide access to food, showers, laundry facilities and advice services to the homeless population of Belfast.
Staff offered reassurances to the public, particularly those who depend on their services, that business will continue as normal.
"Our 24 hour winter outreach programme will also continue to operate as normal," the spokesperson explained. "Our Outreach service will be out on the streets of Belfast 24 hours a day and our 2nd Outreach Van will also be operating from 8pm - 8am.
"The Outreach Teams will provide support to homeless people and rough sleepers and the 2nd van will enable us to cover the whole of the Belfast area and not just the city centre.
"We plan to have the damage to the Drop-in repaired by Christmas and we will continue with our preparations to give the homeless people of Belfast a warm, safe and festive Christmas.
"We would like to thank the public for your continued and vital support without which we couldn't deliver the level of services we do for people affected by homelessness in Belfast."
Anyone with information on the damage caused to the facility is encouraged to submit relevant details to police via 101 with reference 47 of 04/11/19.
(JG/CM)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.
