About Cornerstone
Everyone deserves a second chance
Cornerstone Supported Housing & Counselling has walked alongside people facing homelessness across County Durham and Hartlepool for over a decade. We offer safe homes, a warm welcome, counselling and a real route back to work.
Our mission
No one should have to face homelessness alone
We believe a home is the foundation everything else is built on — health, work, relationships, dignity. Our mission is to make sure that when someone in the North East has nowhere to turn, there is a door that opens.
We meet people where they are, without judgement. We provide safe, supported accommodation, hot meals, showers, counselling and practical help with housing and benefits. And through our workshop and furniture shops, we offer something rarer still — paid work, training and a reason to get up in the morning.
We don't give up on people. That's the whole of it.
Our story
A client's journey through Cornerstone
Hear first hand what supported housing and counselling at Cornerstone really looks like — from the first night in a safe bed to a home of your own.
What we do
Support at every stage of the journey
From a first hot meal to the keys to a home of their own, we're with people the whole way.
Supported housing
Safe, supported accommodation with a dedicated support worker helping people find and keep a home of their own.
Drop-in hubs
Hot meals, showers, clean clothes and a friendly face in Bishop Auckland and Hartlepool. No appointment needed.
Street outreach
Our team goes out to find people sleeping rough — with food, warm clothing and a route into accommodation.
Immediate access accommodation
A warm, safe bed for someone with nowhere to go tonight, plus a plan for what comes next.
Counselling & wellbeing
Trained, compassionate counsellors offering a safe space to talk through trauma, addiction and loss.
The Workshop
Paid work, joinery training and mentoring — building handmade furniture that funds our housing work.
Our impact
Real change, every single day
How we work
Local, practical and stubbornly hopeful
We're not a national charity running a regional branch. Cornerstone was started here, is staffed here, and every pound raised stays here. That means we know the streets, the landlords, the council teams and the people — and they know us.
- We meet people where they are, without judgement
- Every service is rooted in the North East, for local people
- People with lived experience shape how we work
- We stay involved long after the front door opens
Cornerstone didn't just give me a roof, they gave me purpose. Working in the workshop, I found my feet again.
Be part of the next chapter
Whether you give, volunteer, fundraise or shop with us, you help someone in the North East find their way home.