Home > Our Work > A bathroom refresh for Kairos Community Trust’s North London move-on house

Homelessness London Mar 2023

A bathroom refresh for Kairos Community Trust’s North London move-on house

Kairos Community Trust are dedicated to helping homeless men and women with drug and alcohol problems, through their abstinence-support hostel, rehab programmes and network of 29 supported move-on houses.

Move-on houses are vital in a person’s journey from homelessness and addiction. They offer the opportunity for people to live independently, but with the comfort of knowing a support worker can be available 24 hours a day via Kairos’ on-call system, should they need it.

The need

Kairos’ move-on houses are family-sized properties in the community, ranging in size from four to 11 bedrooms. Their property in Burnt Oak was occupied by a different community prior to Kairos’ ownership and currently houses seven residents, with two bathrooms between them. The downstairs bathroom was in need of a refresh, which CRASH could certainly help with…

Before & After:

The Solution

CRASH Corporate Patron VolkerFitzpatrick led the build and worked with the support of their sub-contractors, Lawsons demolition, Mossford, and Pentalec, to deliver the new bathroom. CRASH engaged Corporate Patrons Geberit, who generously donated the sanitaryware free of charge, Dulux Decorator Centre, who supplied the paint, and supporter Altro, who provided the flooring free of charge and the wall panelling at a reduced cost.

The bathroom is now fit-for purpose, and its wipe clean surfaces are perfect for shared accommodation!

The Gift in Kind value from donated expertise and products on the project totalled £15,339
CRASH pledged a small grant to cover the discounted wall panelling, meaning there was no cost to Kairos for this new bathroom

Corporate Patron VolkerFitzpatrick with subcontractors Mossford

The old tiles and storage units were difficult to keep clean

The shower was in need of a refresh

The new shower has easy to clean wall panels

The new sanitaryware, donated by patron Geberit

A birdseye view of the completed shower room

Impact beyond the building

“My sincere gratitude to VolkerFitzpatrick and their team for transforming the bathroom at our north London move-on house; a welcome addition for the seven residents who live there – they are truly delighted with this new facility. The savings to Kairos corresponds to 12 weeks of therapy for four people, addressing substance misuse issues. That is four homeless addicts reflecting on their lives, being helped to reclaim those lives, and preparing for a worthwhile, independent future.”

Mossie Lyons

Chief Executive at Kairos Community Trust

“A small project making a huge difference. Having been personally involved with a number of CRASH projects in the past, it was an easy decision when asked to organise the refurbishment of the shower room at Kairos’ North London home, just 25 miles from the VolkerFitzpatrick head office. Kairos are a fantastic charity, and it was a real pleasure for all those involved to bring a little change to the property. Thank you to Lawsons Demolition, Pentalec & Mossfords for all your kind help and hard work.”

Jason Fairbrass

Operations Manager at VolkerFitzpatrick

“Over the years we have helped Kairos Community Trust to improve and develop a number of their buildings so they can continue to care and support people who find themselves homeless and facing addiction. We are delighted to add this shower room refurbishment to our list of projects for Kairos – a huge thank you to the people who helped make this project happen.”