A teenage mum and her newborn baby have been saved from spending this Christmas on the streets after a woman transformed her two guesthouses to help families in need.
Barbara Godfrey owns both The Captain's Quarters and the Andorra in Southport and was asked by the local council in October if she could put up a young family.
This quickly escalated into her filling her two guesthouses within a month and Barbara said she has been happy to transform her once tourism business into a safe space for people to stay during a hard time in their lives.
READ MORE: Dead dog found dumped in abandoned wheelie bin in park
The Captain's Quarters guesthouse on Bath Street could easily be mistaken for a family home as happy children play and watch cartoons.
She told the ECHO: "To be honest, it has been amazing. I never went looking for it. I never thought it was something I would have done.
"I've had the occasional person that the council has asked me to house, so I have been on their books but when the first family walked through the door, then the second and then I decided to open up my home as if it was to family.
"They just became family to me and I started treating them like family to the point where I'm happy to see them go, but I don't want to see them go because they're dear to me. They've all really grown on me."
One young mum, Sasha, 17, was taken in by Barbara last month following the birth of her son, Leo.
Sasha, whose son is just two months old, was struggling to find a place to settle with her boyfriend, Neo, 18.
The 17-year-old mum said: "We found out I was pregnant at the start of the year and we ended up having quite a few issues.
"The council put us up here about a month and a half ago.
"Barbara has been great and has been a massive help. We probably would have been stuck in a bad situation if we hadn't come here. That's the best way I can put it really.
"Barbara has helped in ways we couldn't have imagined. She's helped us get Leo everything he needs.
"I can't imagine what it would've been like if we'd have been put on the streets with him.
"If we didn't have a roof over our heads here the situation would be absolutely awful, but I'm so glad that Barbara has let us stay as long as we have."
She added: "Barbara's made us feel really comfortable here.
"Straight away we were shown around and told us that we were safe here.
"Me and my partner weren't receiving any benefits so we were living off a food bank which wasn't exactly great.
"But it helped that when we got here Barbara's cupboards are always stocked with food.
"You can help yourself and there's no shame. We just feel comfortable having the food and not feeling embarrassed about it."
Barbara said it is heart wrenching that she can't help everyone and transforming her guesthouse has opened her eyes to how many people need help.
She said: "It's heart wrenching.
"You can't give everything to everybody.
"I house them, keep them here, make them happy. I provide food for them as well. Sometimes they turn up with absolutely nothing.
"It took me a while to understand because they have use of a washing machine and tumble dryer and to only see it partly used because they just didn't have many clothes came as a shock.
"There were bits of food going missing and then I realised that they left in such a hurry that they could only grab what they could carry, they could only take what they could and, quite often or not, in their relationships the money isn't freely available for them to get hold of.
"I stock up the cupboards with food and the compassionate foods charity gave me quite a substantial amount of food to do that because it was costing me a fortune.
"I never imagined that so many people out there needed so much help.
"I think I just walked around with blinkers on because it wasn't happening to me, but a lot of people have said to me that people are just one pay packet away from being homeless.
"It's a massive issue. These people have taken the brave move to run away from poor relationships with absolutely no money."
Alex, another woman who is staying with Barbara, fled a violent relationship with three of her four children.
She said her ex partner, of nearly 20 years, was very controlling and a heavy drinker who would become violent.
*Alex's name has been changed to protect her identity*
Alex told the ECHO: "We had to flee domestic violence. We got told we were getting put somewhere in Southport and literally within three hours we were brought here.
"It's brilliant here. We've been really well looked after. I have another daughter as well but she hasn't come with us, she's staying with her nan.
"My children have just moved schools so we've had loads of help with that and Barbara has been amazing.
"Barbara cooks our teas and everything for us.
"We've had all kinds of donations and stuff. We've also got a meal planned for tomorrow night, we've had tickets for a light show around the corner, it's really helped the children settle in because it's been a massive change for us moving.
"We've had to pick our life up and move but Barbara has been fab."
Now seven weeks on from the family moving into the guesthouse, they are now waiting for the keys to their own home.
Barbara said the help from the people of Southport has been amazing with people dropping donations off.
She added: "I've been in tears at the door. Some people come and give money and I promise them that this money counts.
"Some of the people I house just need a leg up, like some money to get phone credit so they can phone housing up.
"Some just need basic things like toiletries or can't afford sanitary wear. I know they can go and get help but a lot of them come from out of the area so they don't actually know where to get those things from."
The people staying with Barbara are set for a complimentary meal from the newly opened restaurant Larkins on Bold Street Southport as well as the floods of donations from those across Southport.
Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, said: “This Council has a long-standing commitment to helping people suffering from homelessness and supporting those rough sleepers who may find themselves in a vulnerable position, without a safe and warm place to call home.
“I am very proud of the work our teams do to help combat rough sleeping.
“Nobody wants to find themselves bedding down for the night on a cold pavement or stairwell and we are fully aware that with each new day, people may find themselves in need of support through absolutely no fault of their own.
Download the LancsLive app for free on iPhone here and Android here.
To keep updated, follow LancsLive on Facebook and @LiveLancs on Twitter.
Have you got news for us? Contact our newsdesk on lancslive@reachplc.com.
Get all the latest news, sport and what's on stories sent to your inbox daily with the LancsLive newsletter here.
