Adam Hashim and his friend Vince Wheatley

AN outreach group for homeless people has taken over a disused building next to Hampstead Heath and is providing shelter for four rough sleepers – but faces a battle to stay there.

Streets Sustenance has been feeding and helping the homeless in the borough twice a week for the past two years.

Last month it began occupying a non-residential building in Dartmouth Park owned by Heath guardians, the City of London Corporation. The group say the building has been empty for two years, so want to put it to good use.

Its founder Adam Hashim said: “I’ve been homeless myself and on the squat scene for 20 years. Homelessness can affect anyone. Now people are a couple of paychecks away from being on the streets. People work two, three jobs and it’s still not enough to pay the rent.

If I can grab a building to help someone else, I will.”

Prior to staying in the house, Mr Hashim said some of his guests were sleeping in public toilets “covered in mould”. But in two weeks of living under a roof, one of them has cut back on drinking and secured labouring work. The building has a kitchen, toilets, a garden and two garages, which are “perfect” for storing supplies donated from the community, said Mr Hashim.

He asked the City of London for a “meanwhile lease” to transform it into a community hub offering cooking classes and bike maintenance workshops, among other things – while the owners decided what they wanted to do with it.

Mr Hashim was involved in a winter shelter for the homeless set up by a group of squatters in Gray’s Inn Road last December in a disused building owned by One Housing. After four months it ended with their eviction.

“In order to help as many people as we can we need space for storage,” Mr Hashim said. “I don’t want to give this place up. It’s almost like it’s been purpose-built. If we get to keep it I’ll be so happy, I really will,” he told the New Journal.

But the City of London said in a letter yesterday (Wednesday) that the property was only allowed to be used for staff accommodation and that it has contacted Camden’s homelessness team to support the rough sleepers.

A spokesperson for the Hampstead Heath charity, which is managed by the City of London Corporation, said: “The building is suffering from subsidence and is not safe for occupation.

“The occupiers were informed but refused to vacate and remain unlawfully within the property. “This leaves us no choice but to act for the safety of the occupiers and in the interest of the Hampstead Heath charity.”

They added: “We have strong partnerships with numerous charities who support vulnerable people. And our staff are working closely with Camden Council to help homeless people found on the Heath to find safe alternative arrangements.”

New figures released by the Combined Homelessness and Information Network show 3,628 people were sleeping rough in London from July to September this year.