AN EMERGENCY night shelter for the homeless in Hull is set to close on Monday. Dock House has operated in St Peter Street, city centre, for 30 years by the Hull Homeless and Rootless Project (Harp).
But the charity says the 20-bed unit will close on June 30 after Hull City Council awarded a new contract to provide emergency accommodation to another organisation.
Harp chairman Sandy Smith said: "We are very disappointed because Dock House has been providing this kind of accommodation for 30 years.
"We will continue to provide our outreach service, which works with people living on the streets who can't access hostels.
"We will also continue with the other leases we hold, which are used as halfway housing for people coming out of places such as Dock House."
She said the charity had reluctantly decided against bidding for the new council contract.
She said: "The contract was valued at £50,000 a year but also required 24-hour access to 40 beds.
"Our trustees took the view that it was simply not enough to fund the staffing of a 24-hour service dealing with very vulnerable people.
"They decided it would not be safe and, as a result, withdrew from the process."
She said the charity's continuing work with the homeless would depend on securing ongoing funding support.
She said: "We have some funding to carry on our outreach work for the next 12 months but we are currently looking for substantial long-term financial support."
The new three-and-a-half year council contract has been awarded to Humbercare Ltd, which recently reopened a former homeless hostel in Roper Street.
As well as the new contract, the council has also awarded Humbercare a one-off £70,000 grant to establish the new emergency accommodation centre.
Humbercare chief executive Richard McKinnon said the Roper Street building would be used to create a new hub for services aimed at rough sleepers and the homeless.
He said: "For the first time, this is a real opportunity to co-ordinate and deliver homeless provision under an innovative approach, an exciting partnership with Hull City council and our statutory partners will ensure a responsive service to rough sleepers and those who are homeless in the city.
"Humbercare is committed to ensuring a smooth transition to those service users of Hull Harp."
Laura Carr, the city council's neighbourhoods and housing manager, said the new contract was aimed at helping homeless people eventually find a permanent roof over their heads.
She said: "This provides an exciting new opportunity to provide a holistic service to homeless people with complex needs and who are at risk of rough sleeping.
"The new service will ensure people receive comprehensive multi-agency assessments and work alongside the other services to assist homeless people to move on to greater independence."
The new service will provide for a minimum of 20 people with the opportunity to expand over the winter to 40 places.
The council is in discussions with Hull Harp about alternative uses for Dock House and to minimise the impact on homeless people from the closure.
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