Slough's threatened homeless charity had a visit from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn this afternoon.
The charity SHOC (Slough Homeless Our Concern) which offers a lifeline to the town’s rough sleepers is in cramped temporary accommodation next to St Michael’s church in Whitby Road.
It must leave in three months and faces an uncertain future.
Mr Corbyn was welcomed by the charity's leaders and many of the homeless people who it helps when he arrived shortly after 2pm.
The charity's chief executive Steve Hedley told Mr Corbyn the town’s 50 or so rough sleepers were at risk if the charity could not find another home.
He told him that 14 people died on the streets in Slough three years ago but this had reduced to only two last year.
He feared if the charity could not find new premises from which to help the homeless, deaths would go through the roof again.
He said: "We are absolutely desperate to find another property.”
Jemma Jones, 33, is among the homeless people supported by SHOC. She greeted Mr Corbyn with a big hug and laughed as a friend called out 'she has got a crush on you Jeremy'.
But as he met other homeless regulars inside, she told the Observer that the charity's support had been invaluable since her beloved partner Gary Cozens, 44, died. She found him in a bath at the home of a friend offering them temporary shelter.
She said: "We had been together nine and a half years. This has totally destroyed me - I have been homeless on and off for 18 years and SHOC has been a lifeline."
She is still battling heroin and crack addiction.
Mr Corbyn took the opportunity to disagree vehemently with Royal Borough Council leader Simon Dudley, whose recent letter to the Crime Commissioner calling for more action against beggars in the town has stirred up a hornet's nest.
Mr Corbyn called the comments 'crass and appalling', saying: "People beg because they are desperate. I speak to people every day who are begging to get enough money to get into a night shelter."
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