An inviting massage table, a snug chair, a sunlit field of grass – this is not a holiday resort but one of London’s famous double-decker buses, which this summer will house up to 40 homeless people.
A fleet of four decommissioned buses has been converted by British-based social enterprise Buses4Homeless into a shelter for homeless people, with spaces for sleeping, dining, cooking, job training and relaxing.
“The most crucial thing for anyone is shelter, having a place to stay,” said Buses4Homeless founder Dan Atkins, from the buses’ temporary site in Croydon, south London.
“And that’s what’s sorely missing in London as the number of beds in night shelters gets slashed and housing remains unaffordable for too many,” he added.