Today, in a statement about Sunderland’s Basis drop-in, Oasis Community Housing’s CEO Sarah Gorman confirmed:
It is with deep sadness that our Sunderland homelessness drop-in will close at 2pm on Friday 3 July.
We all know Basis as a safe place that has been a lifeline for thousands of people experiencing homelessness since it opened 8 years ago, with dedicated staff providing trusted support for everyone who walks through the door. Those members of staff and the people we support are at the front of our thoughts.
We have explored every funding avenue and building-option currently available to us, to try and find some way of keeping this vital work going. But, despite our best efforts, we have not been able to secure this specialist service.
Oasis Community Housing is still fully committed to meeting the needs of people facing homelessness in Sunderland, and we are continuing to have conversations to try and find a solution as to how we can provide this much-needed service, in some guise, moving forwards.