What we do
The Open Door Charity is a community response to homelessness
Our mission
Our mission is to ensure that no one has to sleep rough and to empower people experiencing homelessness to rebuild their lives.
We work in partnership with:
- Hightown Housing Association, who run the Night Shelter in Bricket Road, oversee the Outreach Worker and manage referrals;
- St Albans City & District Council, ensuring our services supplement effectively their housing
- Other local charities who support the vulnerable and those experiencing or at risk of homelessness
We raise funds and bring together volunteers to:
- provide additional services at the Open Door Night Shelter (including home cooked meals, support activities, refurbishing facilities);
- run the annual Winter Beds Project to ensure no one need sleep rough during the winter months; and
- fund an outreach worker to engage with rough sleepers and support them into more settled accommodation.
We also constantly assess the changing nature of homelessness in the area, and services provided, to identify gaps where assistance is needed. We are currently exploring with Hightown and St Albans Council how the support at the night shelter might be expanded.
In all our activities, we work to ensure everyone, no matter their story, is treated supportively, with kindness and without judgement. We give a listening ear, empower and give worth to individuals. We’re a community empowering lives beyond homelessness.
We work collaboratively with our partners to help achieve the best outcomes from the services we provide.
Hightown Housing Association is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Open Door service.
To find out more call: 01727 859113
The Drop-in Service is open from 2.30pm to 4.00pm (Monday – Friday)
We are a local charity supported by our community. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we continue to improve services at the Open Door facility.
With your help people can escape homelessness, find work and lead more settled lives.
Outreach services
The St Albans Outreach Service supports people sleeping rough, offering practical help and a pathway into housing, healthcare, and other vital services.
The post is funded by Open Door Charity and managed by Hightown Housing Association.
The outreach worker engages directly with people sleeping rough in St Albans, often building trust over time with those who may be reluctant to accept help. They check on individuals’ welfare, provide access to essentials like food, clothing, and emergency accommodation, and support people in connecting with healthcare, housing, and benefits. They make regular visits to sites where rough sleeping is known to take place, and respond to all reports of rough sleepers referred through Streetlink*. While always respecting personal autonomy and decision-making, the outreach worker continues to offer support and advocate on behalf of rough sleepers with local services, encouraging long-term change when people feel ready to take that step.
Why do I see rough sleepers on the streets?
It can at times be difficult to persuade some people to use nightshelter accommodation. There are a range of reasons why some prefer to sleep rough, and ultimately individuals may make choices that other people find hard to understand. At the same time, rough sleeping is a high risk situation. People may find it harder to make decisions if they are exhausted, hungry, afraid, in pain, intoxicated etc. So there is a balance to be struck between respecting the choices and autonomy of the individual, and continuing to make offers of support and checking on that person’s welfare.
Many services have experienced someone refusing a bed for years, until one day they are ready to accept support. Change is always possible.
Winter Beds
The Charity’s Winter Beds Project runs from December to March, providing additional overnight accommodation for anyone who might otherwise be rough sleeping. It is managed and run by volunteers, overseen by a steering group from the charity and volunteers.
Guests access the service by attending the Drop In based at the Bricket Road night shelter (Monday- Friday, 2.30- 4pm), where they receive a daily referral from the outreach team. This regular contact has proved invaluable in supporting guests in finding more secure accommodation.
Since its beginning in 2017, the project has housed 117 individuals.
70% of guests who stayed at the Winter Beds Project in 2024/25 moved on to alternative, more settled accommodation and 950 volunteer hours were given to the project.
Volunteers work in pairs on an evening or morning shift, setting up and welcoming guests, or preparing breakfast and clearing away. This gives many opportunities to engage with guests, and help them feel valued and supported – as well as getting to know other volunteers. A paid guard ensures the security of the guests overnight.
Feedback from our guests has been very positive:
Our first female guest explained that she couldn’t stay at Open Door if her ex-partner was there and so our Winter Beds shelter enabled her to come in off the street and out of the cold. In the morning she told us she had her best night’s sleep for a long time and, “your mattresses are wonderful”.
Last winter (2024/25), we provided beds at Marlborough Road Methodist Church, with comfortable mattresses in a warm, partitioned hall. Guests could eat their evening meal at the night shelter or access those provided by local charities, Centre 33 and St Albans Action for Homeless.
Lucy Gaygusuz, Project Manager, says ‘We have been working tirelessly to make sure that we can offer people who would otherwise be rough sleeping a safe space to sleep away from the streets. The Winter Beds Project has always been a volunteer led service and we have an amazing group of dedicated volunteers who are all ready to make sure no one in St Albans has to sleep rough this winter.”
Interested in volunteering at the Winter Beds Project?
We have over 65 volunteers supporting the Winter Beds Project each Winter
some on a regular basis, others ad hoc. Find out more >
“Meeting new people and doing my bit to support the homeless. I wanted to give something back to my community”
Full training is provided, and support is always available during a shift, if any queries arise.