A new lease of life for an old barracks supporting homeless people and the wider community.
Homelessness
Suffolk
Feb 2012
CRASH Helps Create Six New Bed Spaces
Solo Housing has been helping single people who find themselves with nowhere to live since 1985.
The need
Covering the Norfolk and Suffolk areas, the charity supports a range of people, from those who simply need a roof over their head, to those who need regular help to overcome problems that they may be experiencing. The charity approached CRASH for help with a £60,000 project to renovate a property in Diss, Norfolk creating six new bed spaces.
The solution
CRASH responded by organising pro-bono professional expertise and sourcing materials from patrons.
How patrons helped
EC Harris got involved with the project by offering their professional advice, CRASH also sourced materials from Altro, British Gypsum, Dulux Trade, Hanson and Heckmondwicke. CRASH also awarded the project a cash grant of £15,000.
The social impact
Support workers are now working to fill the bed spaces as soon as possible to help get people off the streets in time for Christmas.
The new property is next door to the Solo’s Old Post Office hostel, which CRASH had previously helped renovate, and will be used as second stage accommodation for those moving on from the hostel.
Solo Housing also offer a lodging scheme for those who are able to live with less support. Like 58 year old Geoff who was sleeping in his car before Solo stepped into help. Geoff had owned his own home and business for 37 years but, like many others, he lost his business during the recession and his home was repossessed when he was unable to afford the mortgage. Thanks to the support he received from Solo Housing, Geoff now has a proper roof over his head and has just been offered a job by his landlord.
“It feels really good to end the year on a high point with the opening of our new project at 34 Victoria Road,” says Solo Housing Chief Executive John Durrant. “But what really counts for me is the way that residents turn their lives around. Our purpose as an organisation is to help this process. Hearing these success stories vindicates the value of our work and the faith that we put into the individuals who come to us. “
CEO at Solo Housing
