Joseph Holt’s lifeline support for homeless centre

Brewery’s Lifeline for Refuge

A refuge for the homeless – which found itself homeless – has been saved with a £500,000 gift from a brewery. Salford Loaves and Fishes, has been providing a drop in service for up to 50 to 60 people a day for the last 30 years.

It was launched in 1987 in the basement of Salford Cathedral, set up by the Sisters of the Holy Child Jesus, a Catholic community of women.

It worked there for 20 years helping homeless and poor and became known as Salford Loaves and Fishes. In 2007, it moved to the Windsor Centre with the Manchester City Mission for eight years. But it had to find another home in 2015. For a while, it was in a temporary home in cabins helped by the charity Emmaus, and occupied part of a factory, owned by local business Speedy Products.

Now it has moved to Edward Holt House in Paddington Close, Churchill Way, Pendleton. The Joseph Holt brewing family bought the building and paid for a £546,000 refurbishment. The charity now has rent-free premises and a 100-year lease to continue supporting local people.

Jane Murphy, Chairman of the Trustees of Salford Loaves and Fishes, said: “We are delighted to have a new, permanent home and can’t thank the Edward Holt Trust enough for their generosity. Our services are needed more than ever and we can now focus on helping everyone who comes through our doors.”.

The cash has come from the Edward Holt Charitable Trust, set up by the brewery in 1950, by a member of the Holt brewing family.

Its main aim is to provide accommodation for people with limited means at Holt House, Didsbury, but it works across Greater Manchester and, over the last five years, has helped numerous homelessness projects with capital funds and other support costs.

Richard Kershaw, Joseph Holt’s Chief Executive, who chairs the trust, said: “We were pleased to be able to help get this service on a sounder footing. All our trustees were impressed with the total dedication to helping homeless people in Salford that the trustees, staff and volunteers involved in Loaves and Fishes had shown over many years.”.

Loaves and Fishes currently open three days a week Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 8 am to 2 pm and is looking for more volunteers to expand its opening hours. For more information, please visit Salford Loaves and Fishes website. Any interested is asked to call 0161 737 8775 or call into the centre.

Credit: Neal Keeling at Manchester Evening News