Supporting the residents of the Leonard Stocks Centre
Friends of Factory Row
OUR MISSION
“Relieving the homelessness crisis in South Devon by supporting the work of the Leonard Stocks Centre and other projects, raising awareness and countering prejudice”
The Friends of Factory Row was set up to support the residents of the Factory Row project, now the Leonard Stocks Centre, a homeless hostel in Torquay, Devon.
Its activities are wide-ranging and include fundraising, befriending work and contributing to the spiritual life of the hostel. We also support other projects working with homeless people in Torbay.
All money raised locally is spent locally.
An important area of its work is advocacy, providing speakers for any group which wants to hear about the work of the project and promoting its activities among the community through the local media.
There are over 100 members of the Friends of Factory Row.
Membership is just £5 a year includes a newsletter with all the latest information of the work of The Friends.
To become a member and help support the project get in touch and support this vital work.
In numbers:
54% increase in rough sleeping in Torbay in last 12 months
35 people sleep homeless in Torbay in August 2023 – which we knew about
Torbay ranks in top 3 of seaside towns.
1in 3 street homeless have been deliberately assaulted
Homeless people are 9 times more likely to take their own life
Torbay’s Leonard Stocks homeless hostel is always full with a waiting list
Life expectancy of people experiencing homelessness is 47 for men and 42 for women.
Snapshot on a single November in 2023 night – 27 rough sleepers
News
Read our latest news at the centre.
Volunteering
Show you care and volunteer.
History
Learn more about us at FOFR.
Contact us
Contact us at Friends of Factory Row
The people we’ve helped
Stories from the frontline
David’s final wish
WHEN people choose to die at home it means they feel safe and supported in that place. When David, 52, was told he had just weeks to live from bone cancer, he knew where home was - among the caring staff and fellow residents at the Leonard Stocks homeless hostel in...
Angela’s Story
Leonard Stocks’ success at re-settling rough sleepers into permanent accommodation has been praised by the housing charity CRISIS, who pointed to a 70% success rate as well above that achieved elsewhere. Angela is a familiar face in Torquay. As a member of the...
Stuart’s Story
IT is never too late to turn your life around and for some, the Leonard Stocks hostel is the crucial junction. Stuart, 48, first experimented with drugs when he was 11-years old. By 12-years-old he was “unmanageable” and in a boarding school for children with...
Ray’s Story
The Leonard Stocks centre is a life saver, just ask Ray Thake. Only after he managed to get into the hostel after years or rough sleeping was a brain tumour identified by one of the doctors who regularly attends. Ray said: “He noticed a twitch on my right cheek. When...
Outreaching hands of the Friends
The Friends of Factory Row were set up in 1995 to support the work of the hostel in central Torquay.
The community has always wanted to show support for its work to reduce rough sleeping across South Devon and the Friends have provided an effective route for giving. It has never had any overheads or admin costs. All money donated has gone straight to fulfilling the needs of rough sleepers and those living in the hostel. From its beginnings it has been a very local charity.
Occasional large donations and bequests have boosted funds. Current fundraising runs at under £7,000 a year, but it’s enough to make a huge difference for those on the streets or just coming into the hostel. The Friends work especially hard to help residents of the hostel move on into flats and bedsits – one of the moments of greatest jeopardy for vulnerable people seeking to rebuild their lives.
Over the years the Friends have had to speak up in defence of the hostel and its work in the resort. Many people are hostile to rough sleepers and want police to enforce their removal from town centre and seafront areas. The Friends have advocated for the rights of those on the streets and for the importance of the hostel in helping to solve the crisis. In November 2023 the annual rough sleeper count in Torbay totalled 27, a big leap on the previous year, and that was just a snapshot on one night.
With the housing crisis deepening that figure is bound to increase.
Bay’s housing crisis
The root cause of Torbay’s homelessness is the lack of affordable housing. Torbay has just 8% social housing compared to a national average of 18%. It is the lowest in the Westcountry.
No amount of support will help people move from the streets to a bedsit or shared house if there are simply none available.
The 29-bed Leonard Stocks Centre in Factory Row, Torquay is often the only accessible home for the dozens of people who sleep rough in Torbay during the course of the year.
The challenge then is to move people on so new vacancies can be created for people still on the streets.
Once, the overwhelming majority of hostel residents were men. Nowadays it is not unusual to have as many women in the hostel as men. One in four rough sleepers in Torbay are women.
Click here for short Torbay Council video:
https://www.torbay.gov.uk/leonard-stocks-centre/
54%
54% increase in rough sleeping in Torbay in last 12 months
17
Rough sleepers rose from 7
to 17 in Torquay last Autumn
872
People have been looked after
via Factory Row
49+
We have over 49 volunteers
that help to keep Factory Row open
Partner and Support Us
Local business backing is vital to our service, come and help us end homelessness and help those in need. Our partners below:
