The Homeless Hotel

The UK’s housing crisis is well publicised by the media, throw in a global pandemic and inevitably the situation becomes worse. 

Certain hotels in the city are known to host temporary accommodation for vulnerable people and families, this hotel was not.  When lockdown hit in March 2020 and the government declared ‘Everyone in’, the hotel filled up with over 140 families overnight, all experiencing a variety of challenging circumstances during an already difficult time.

InUnity stumbled across this by accident when we delivered a happy pack to family living in the hotel. When we discovered the extent of the problem, we knew we could offer some wellbeing activities for the families living there.

With support from the Edgbaston Early Help Team and full support from hotel management, InUnity were able to use the hotels large garden twice a week to offer a variety of sports activities, play based activities for children and arts and craft activities for children and families to do together. Over 120 children and families came down to the sessions. It gave them an opportunity to talk to others in similar situations who could support, advise, and empathise with each other through their similar experiences.

Not only were we able to offer wellbeing activities,  thanks to a call for action from one of our partners, we were flooded with donations of clothes, toiletries and other essential items such as nappies, wipes and milk that we were able to donate the families at the hotel who were in need. InUnity staff volunteered their time to run a Saturday morning clothes give away to pass on the 50+ bags of donated clothes.

As Covid-19 restrictions being to ease, unfortunately the challenges faced by vulnerable families will not. As residents leave others arrive and so InUnity will continue our offer of wellbeing sessions to families residing at the hotel by running after school sports and activity sessions.