The shelter is open from 8.00pm to 9.30pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to offer their guests hot meals, showers, clean clothes and a laundry service - a bag of clothes can be dropped off on one evening for collection on the next evening they are open. Hot drinks and sandwiches are available for guests to takeaway.
Beds are offered via a referral system worked in partnership with Bristol City Council and St Mungos Outreach Team to decide which guests are offered beds each week. Occasionally if they have a spare bed then the Shift Supervisor can offer any it to another guest for that night only.
The Julian Trust started life in 1986 when a small group of concerned individuals, including their founder, Meg Grimes, felt there was a need to do something for those who were sleeping on the city streets of Bristol in doorways, derelict buildings, cemeteries, and car-park stairwells to name just a few of the uncomfortable and unsafe locations. They decided that an emergency night shelter was required to provide the first rung on the ladder out of homelessness. Volunteers and money were needed.
During the first year the organisation was granted charitable status and the Catholic church of St Nicholas of Tolentino generously offered one of their annex buildings in Pennywell Road as a temporary base for our first premises. The Night Shelter opened its doors to its first guests on 26th September and there it stayed in cramped conditions for over a year until December 1987 when the Church of England made available the hall and other rooms within St. Thomas Church and we relocated there near to Bristol Bridge. This provided a larger dormitory, a better kitchen and sleeping quarters for volunteers in the bell tower! Ron Harwood- Smith, was instrumental in this provision. He became a member of the Julian Trust and at the same time with others formed a new charity, Caring at Christmas. Together, the Julian Trust and Caring at Christmas, ran the first Christmas Shelter offering 24-hour provision for five days. The Night Shelter stayed at St Thomas’ for the next two years, finally moving in April 1990. It was then that the Bristol Bus Company kindly offered its empty offices and garage workshop in Marlborough Street near the bus station. This move would provide better facilities yet again with much more room to organise.
In July 1992 the Night Shelter moved to Dean Street and for the first time rent had to be paid! It was now clear that the Charity itself was really without a long-term home of its own having to move every two years into buildings that were not entirely suitable for its purposes. Furthermore, needing to ask the public for donations to pay a commercial rent was not the best use of their money. Could they instead be asked to fund a permanent home for the Night Shelter? It would need to be purpose-designed to have all the best features of our previous buildings and to meet Bristol City Council planning requirements.
So began the Bristol Night Shelter Project. For three years Ron Harwood-Smith, who became the joint Chairman of the Julian Trust and Caring at Christmas, led the hunt for a suitable warehouse property for them to convert. Surprisingly, after looking at many possibilities, an opportunity arose just across the courtyard from the Dean Street site. Caring at Christmas purchased this building for £123,000. The Julian Trust then added £121,000 from its funds for the first phase of refurbishment of the building and for planning and publicity costs.
Over the next two years public donations, received by the Bristol Night Shelter Appeal (jointly organised by the Julian Trust and Caring at Christmas), then paid a further £237,000 to complete the refurbishment work.
July 1996, ten years after its foundation and exactly four years after moving into Dean Street, the Julian Trust moved into its new home across the courtyard to Little Bishop Street with facilities that met high standards in environmental health and a 50 year lease from Caring at Christmas.
2006 saw the twentieth anniversary of the Julian Trust, culminating in a commemorative reception held at the Council House, College Green. Our founder Meg Grimes was also awarded the Lord Mayor’s Gold Medal.
2011 was not only the 25th anniversary of the Night Shelter, but the year that The Julian Trust received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service! Sadly Meg Grimes died suddenly and was not able to go to the Buckingham Palace reception. This was a huge loss to us, but Meg had gathered a strong team around her who were determined to carry on the work. The Lord Lieutenant, Mrs Mary Prior, came to our AGM that year to present the crystal and certificate from Her Majesty the Queen.
2013 was another remarkable year. Negotiations between the Julian Trust and Caring at Christmas during 2013, led by their new Chair, Phil Summerhayes, resulted in a radical role reversal! Both charities were made stronger and empowered to help the homeless in different ways. None of this could have happened however if not for an anonymous benefactor providing the money for the Julian Trust to buy out Caring in Bristol.
2014 The Julian Trust purchased the building and became the Landlord and Caring at Christmas became the Tenant. This was to the great advantage of both charities and had the full approval of the Charity Commission. The Julian Trust, a wholly voluntary organisation with no staff wages, was able to spend its income on the maintenance and improvement of the building while Caring at Christmas was able to spend its income on staff wages and a wide range of services to the homeless rebranding itself as Caring in Bristol.
Today the Julian Trust is an influential organisation having fully participated in the Government’s original consultations on the Rough Sleepers’ Initiative and is a member of the Bristol Homeless Forum, the Bristol Shelters Steering group and Voscur. It has contributed to the Survival Handbook and Bristol Homeless Connect, which are printed and and provides website guides to local services for the homeless.
Footnote. In the interest of both accuracy and detail the above report is taken from the Julian Trust website and reflects the presentation given by Vera Saunders to our members.