Mansfield District Council and members of Mansfield Homeless Network are working together to make sure that local homeless people can enjoy a Christmas meal.

Festive meals will be available at:

Friends Meeting House, Rosemary Street, 19 December

Mansfield Soup Kitchen, 20 December

The Beacon, 22 December. Basic hampers with Christmas food and other useful items will be handed out.

The Salvation Army, Christmas day.

In addition to Christmas meals, Mansfield Homeless Network also provides food and support on a weekly basis at various venues across Mansfield:

Mondays
Friends Meeting House, Rosemary Street, from 9.30am to 11.30am
Bridge Street Methodist Church Soup Kitchen, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm

Tuesdays
The Beacon, from noon to 1.30pm
Friends Meeting House, Rosemary Street, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm

Wednesdays
Beacon, noon to 1.30pm
Mansfield Soup Run, Dallas Street, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm

Thursdays
The Railway Inn, Station Street, from 9am to 10am
Beacon Soup Run, Bridge Street Methodist Church car park, from 8.30pm to 9.30pm

Fridays
The Beacon offers food and clothes parcels from 10.15am to 11.30am (before lunch)
The Beacon, from noon to 1.30pm
Bridge Street Methodist Church Soup Kitchen, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm

Sundays
Between December and March, vouchers are being handed out by the Beacon to use at Greggs on Portland Retail Park.

The Beacon will close on Friday, 22 December and will re-open on Wednesday, 3 January 2018. All soup kitchens and church provision will continue to operate.

The council is also supporting The Beacon with its Christmas appeal. The Beacon project is a day centre that supports local homeless people. It provides hot food, shower and laundry facilities, food parcels and clothes and also offers emotional support.

Other services at the Beacon include a nurse, a drug and alcohol support worker, a housing adviser from the council and a job centre adviser to help with benefit enquiries.

To donate to the Beacon Project’s work, go to www.mansfieldbeacon.org and click on the ‘Donate’ link.

​ounr Barry Answer, portfolio holder for housing, said: “We are working with all of our partners in the Homeless Network to ensure that we have arrangements in place to support homeless people this winter.

“There is a range of practical support for those in greatest need and by working together, we can make sure that we are being more effective and making a difference during this festive season.

“If you know or see anyone who is homeless and in need of support this Christmas, contact Framework’s homeless reporting line on 0800 066 5356, and select option 2.”