AN action group determined to see its innovative approach to homelessness come to fruition is seeking support from the community after a devastating setback.

Witney-based Homes4All wants to acquire a double-decker bus which would be used as temporary accommodation for the county’s homeless.

After a motion submitted to Oxford City Council requesting £20,000 to help the project was rejected last week, the group is now urging the community to show its support, after warning people could lose their lives this winter unless the bus is put into action.

A crowdfunding campaign has already raised thousands.

Deborah Robson-Grey, of Homes4All, which was established to support rough sleepers and those struggling to find suitable housing, said: “We are in talks with others who share our desire to do, rather than keep talking about it.

"I’m surprised anything gets done at all, as legislation and egos get in the way.

“This is something we hope will be rolled out up and down the country.

"The need is great. We need to act, not talk, and we have so far raised about £2,000, which is amazing.”

The fundraising will go towards a double decker bus, named the Jumpstart Bus, which is based on a similar service currently operating in Reading.

It would serve, like the one run by Reading’s The Ark Project, as a bridge between sleeping on the streets and more permanent solutions.

During the day it would be used as a safe place people can come to and get help for bullying, domestic abuse, depression, debt, substance addiction and housing issues.

It would have 10 beds upstairs and act as a place for the homeless to sleep and get the help they need.

The clients Homes4All expect to help with the bus are rough sleepers, ranging from people who have just fallen into homelessness to ‘old hands’.

Homes4All found support among members of the Green Party in Oxford, who last week put forward a motion urging the city council to invest £20,000 of its reserves into the project.

The motion was rejected, with one councillor, Mike Rowley, explaining that he could not offer it support as so many concerns had been raised about its effectiveness.

He did, however, suggest that some variation of idea may be useful in future – potentially as outreach to parts of the county with little else to support the homeless.

Ms Robson-Grey said: “Homes4All is all volunteers, some with professional understanding and real-life experience and they don’t trust us or they don’t want to see us succeed because of how it would reflect on them.”

Homes4All is seeking funding for the project but also wants people in the community to offer their skills.

Those looking for more information on how they could help with the project should go to crowdfunder.co.uk/jumpstart-bus