HOUSING SOLUTIONS
BOX CLEVER
T emporary accommodation is vital for keeping people off the streets but comes with its own challenges. Essex-based charity Open Road has teamed up with Colchester Borough Homes – an arms-length management organisation set up by the local authority – to offer in-house support to tenants living in temporary accommodation.
Beyond the Box in Colchester was built and used as private student accommodation for the nearby University of Essex – however, as in other parts of the country, a drop in student numbers has seen accommodation left empty. Colchester City Council made the decision to make use of the empty space to offer tenants in need of temporary
Colchester’ s Beyond the Box is proving to be a remarkably successful one-stop shop for local people in temporary accommodation, says Ellie Bland
‘ I accommodation a place to live.
It’ s important that people in need are given a safe space to stay, but most people in temporary accommodation are going through – or have been through – a difficult time. Many are vulnerable and may already be struggling with addiction, or they may be at risk of using substances as a coping mechanism. At Beyond the Box we’ ve seen a real need for support for people struggling with drug and alcohol problems, and that’ s what Colchester City Council’ s partnership with Open Road offers. Tenants can attend the hub located at Beyond the Box to access the right support – getting those in need into treatment and delivering harm reduction, psychosocial support and motivational interventions right on their doorstep. think it’ s a really good idea. With the state I was in when I arrived here, you were right there to help me – you give people a chance and an option.’
SOS BUS Open Road’ s‘ SOS bus’ parks up at Beyond the Box once a month to offer a mobile drop-in service for advice, support, needle exchange and physical health checks, as well as sex worker support and packs.
Having the needle exchange at Beyond the Box is incredibly important because it provides easy access to clean equipment and safe disposal of used equipment, as well as more interactions and conversations around safe use, options for support, and treatment. This in turn makes the accommodation a safer space in which to live and work.
Alongside substance misuse support, Open Road has its own housing support officer who helps people maintain their temporary accommodation as well as move on to more permanent living arrangements, whether private or council. By offering housing support and substance misuse support together, the hope is that tenants feel ready and able to start afresh by the time they move on – with reduced stress and better understanding of how to take care of themselves.
Open Road also encourages tenants to engage with other organisations such as Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, Dual Diagnosis kyoshino / iStock
10 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • NOVEMBER 2025 WWW. DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS. COM