The Monastery Guesthouse: The Year in Review 2
New Guests for Hedley Lodge
It seems probable that the current arrangement will continue until March, and then we will look at refurbishing the guesthouse ready to receive our regular guests whom we know are waiting to return. The Council are looking into a long-term solution to housing the homeless. There is still much uncertainty so we cannot give a definite date to the reopening of Hedley or future plans.
Visit from our MP
In October, the Abbot welcomed Jesse Norman, MP for Hereford and South Herefordshire, to Hedley Lodge, to see for himself our accommodation for the homeless and to see this Government-funded scheme in action. It has led to a big reduction in the number of rough sleepers.
After a tour of Hedley Lodge and conversations with some of the guests, who praised the efforts made on their behalf and the support offered by the staff, Jesse, who is Financial Secretary to the Treasury in the Government, said:
“I am so pleased to see for myself the benefits this Government programme has brought, both to the people it has helped directly, many now comfortably housed in Hedley Lodge, and to the wider local community, in our great national effort to limit the spread and the effect of Coronavirus. "It is particularly fitting that Belmont Abbey, in keeping with its Benedictine tradition of welcoming all guests, has made this accommodation available and I am most grateful to the Abbot, the Community and the Abbey’s staff for welcoming me to Hedley Lodge and for providing me with the opportunity to meet some of the guests and the staff, and to find out more about the delivery of the project, both from them and from the supporting teams from Herefordshire Council and the local police.”
