A 'ONE-OF-ITS-KIND' day centre for homeless people in Newport is appealing for help to secure the future of the site.

The Olive Branch, based in Lower Dock Street, welcomes an average of 25 people through its doors each day, but relies heavily on volunteers.

Its aim is to help improve the health and wellbeing of the city’s homeless by meeting the most basic of human needs – providing hot meals, clean clothes and basic sanitary and toiletry supplies.

The charity also hopes to extend its opening days from three to five days a week, and build links with other agencies in Newport to "help the city’s homeless get the support and training they need to live fuller, more independent lives" on a longer-term basis.

Sam Heighway, an Olive Branch trustee, said: “Homelessness is such a challenging issue currently, and we wish to do what we can to not only provide the long-term support for our homeless in Newport, but to also sustain the long term future of the day centre."

"We are the only one of its kind in Newport and so any funding that we receive will enable us to not only remain open in the short to medium term, but also to focus on gaining further funding to fulfil our aspirations.”

The Olive Branch’s work has been praised by the people who rely on its support.

One user of the centre, Jordan, said it was “doing a great job feeding the homeless”.

Another, called Steve, said: “[The Olive Branch] is a godsend, we get fed and can rest and relax.

“If the day centre wasn’t here, we’dgo hungry.”

Olive Branch project manager Alison Hawker said: “Since we reopened last year, it has been wonderful to see our clients coming in to our centre, to rest and seek help.

“We’ve worked together with our clients to create the ground rules that are in place, so that they feel the Olive Branch is their centre and somewhere to be proud of.

“We want the clients to take ownership of the centre, giving them a sense of belonging. When they come in we want them to feel like they are walking into a warm, safe and peaceful environment.”

If you would like to support The Olive Branch, visit https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/theolivebranchdaycentre/keepusopen