TWO Blackburn charities have come together to provide for isolated and homeless people on Boxing Day.

Nightsafe, which works with young homeless people and provides emergency accommodation over the festive period, is holding a Boxing Day party.

MORE TOP STORIES:

The party will be open to people of all ages who are lonely and isolated – not just young homeless people.

Last year the charity held the same event, and served Christmas dinner to more than 60 people.

Tauheedul charity has stepped in to help Nightsafe with the event, by providing goody bags so those attending the party can have a gift to take home with them.

Diane Page, Nightsafe’s office and finance manager said: “It’s an annual event, we’ve been doing it for all the years we’ve been open.

“This is our Boxing Day.

“It’s for anyone who is feeling isolated or lonely or homeless this Christmas.

“They can have a full Christmas dinner, there will also be a buffet, and there’s going to be bingo, a quiz, and Christmas carols, and everybody who attends the party will be going home with Christmas presents.”

Yusuf Patel, director of Tauheedul charity, said: “I was contacted by Jay from Nightsafe, they have an event on Boxing Day with food and all sorts of activities, and they asked us for some support.

“Through the boys’ school we have provided 100 gift bags for homeless people, so when they leave they our event can take some of the food away with them.

“It’s very, very important to support projects like this.

“In winter the number of homeless people increases, the food poverty crisis increasing.

“It’s a challenge, but organisations like Nightsafe are doing an excellent job to support the young homeless people in Blackburn, and we’ve agreed to work with them in a range of areas.”

The party will take place in Platform 5, in the Boulevard Centre between 1pm and 4pm.

n Nightsafe has helped 10,000 young people, given 30,000 nights off the street, provided 100,000 meals and has had 400 dedicated volunteers.

The Shelter provides young people aged 16 to 24 a safe place to stay with resettlement support to help them find more permanent accommodation.

Witton Project is a supported housing project for 16 to 18 year olds promoting life skills and supporting young people to move on into indenpendent living.

Platform 5 is a day centre for 16 to 24 years olds that provides facilities such as laundry, storage, showers and meals. It also has an educational and health promotion brief.

Cornfield Cliffe is a supported housing project in Darwen providing six en-suite rooms with 24 hour support.