Woking charity York Road Project is running a Christmas fundraising campaign, Opening The Doors, to raise vital funds for their services that tackle homelessness and rough sleeping in the area.

Over 300 local residents access the charity’s services every year. By offering direct access accommodation to those in need, as well as longer-term support through three shared houses in the Woking area, York Road Project are key to ensuring that people in Woking always have somewhere safe to go.

But now their services are increasingly at risk due to the reduced funding available. The charity’s resource centre in particular has seen all funding from Woking’s beleaguered council withdrawn, and York Road Project must secure a significant increase in voluntary donations to keep the building operating.

The resource centre, on Goldsworth Road in central Woking, provides a safe space for rough sleepers to access hot showers, clean clothes, food and laundry facilities. It also provides the charity with space for offices, and a venue for holding support groups and other activities that tackle homelessness and its root causes.

The Opening The Doors Christmas campaign is seeking to raise £5,000 from individual donations, all of which will be match-funded by a generous anonymous donor from the local area.

If Gift Aid is included, the charity say this campaign will raise funds that could be used to fully fund the Resource Centre through to the spring.

Jayme Barnes, tenancy sustainment officer at York Road Project, said: “Our resource centre is critical to what we do here in Woking. Especially around Christmas time, when it’s cold outside, our clients require this safe space to get the resources they need.”

Visit the charity’s campaign page at www.justgiving.com/campaign/openingthedoors to contribute, or visit their website www.yorkroadproject.org.uk to learn more about their work tackling homelessness in Woking.