10-03-2025
Homeless charity Project 16:15 to open self-funded Rushden cafe
A homeless charity planned to open a self-funded cafe to expand its support for those in 16:15 recently secured £20,000 in lottery funding to establish a site in Rushden, Northamptonshire, and was working to open it within eight to 12 charity, founded in 2017 by former rough sleeper Stan Robertson, provides breakfast to people living on the streets across the Robertson, who will manage the cafe, said: "It's quite scary, and I'm a little bit nervous, but it's an exciting step for us as a charity and I have good faith in the team."
Having experienced homelessness himself, the 56-year-old understands the "sense of worthlessness" and "lack of value" felt by many. He first ran away from home at the age of nine and spent much of his youth in care before serving time in prison before moving to Northamptonshire in Mr Robertson, supporting rough sleepers is about more than just providing food. He said: "When you're enabling someone to wake up with a hot meal and a hot drink, it warms you up. It gives people a feeling of 'I can achieve something today' and helps them engage with other services. We make them feel human again."Since launching, Project 16:15 has served 100,000 meals – which Mr Robertson described as a "huge milestone". He is now focused on expanding the service and added: "We've got the support of the head chef from the University of Northampton and other local businesses. "But we're not stopping at one cafe. We've got a lot of future plans."
Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
