A WORCESTER Homeless Centre has secured new lottery money that will help them set up a new project.

Maggs Day Centre, the charity based in Deansway that specialises in the first steps of helping people get off the streets for good, supplying food and shelter, health check-ups, life skills and mentoring, is to received a three-year grant of £280,000 from the Big Lottery Fund.

Maggs is a big success story in Worcester having been supporting homeless and vulnerable people since opening in 1985.

The Big Lottery Fund is responsible for giving out 40 per cent of the money raised by National Lottery players for good causes.

The new funding is to be used to set up a new project, the Maggs Outreach And Transitional Service (MOATS), which will provide three full-time outreach workers that will engage with rough sleepers across the county, connecting them with the relevant local organisations.

Mel Kirk, Maggs chief executive, said: “We are ecstatic that we have been successful in gaining this grant from the Big Lottery Fund.

"It will enable us to work with some of the hardest to reach across Worcestershire while building partnerships with local agencies to gain the best outcomes possible for this challenging service user group.”

James Harcourt, England grant making director at the Big Lottery Fund, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting this project to help homeless and vulnerable people.

"It’s great to see National Lottery funding improving the lives and wellbeing of people in Worcestershire.”